Nine Unread Messages
by GrellSutcliffeTheRipper
Summary: Sometimes Haruhi regrets accepting that mobile phone the twins offered her, all it does is distract her from her studies. But she starts to find that some distractions are more welcome than others. Haru/Kyo.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hello, my pretties. New story! May make some characters slightly OOC in this story, just for my amusement, but we'll see! Hope you enjoy~

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**_Tamaki Suou (14:08) - _**_Haruhi! Daddy wants to see you ASAP!_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (14:10) - _**_Sorry, sempai. Busy today_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:10) - _**_Haruhiiiiiiiiii :(_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (14:15) - _**_No._

**_Tamaki Suou (14:16) - _**_Is it the twins!?_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:19) - _**_DON'T LET THEM TOUCH YOU_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:27) - _**_MY DAUGHTER SHOULD STAY PURE UNTIL SHE IS MARRIED_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:33) - _**_DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:36) - _**_Haruhi…?_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:39) - _**_WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME?_

At this point I turned my phone onto silent. As much as I loved the half French boy, he could be a real pain in the ass. Study needed to be at the forefront of my mind but every little thing was managing to distract me today. First it was my wardrobe looking slightly untidy so I reorganised every piece of clothing I owned. Then it was the lack of coffee left in the cupboard, so I had to run out to the shop and buy some more. Now I was aimlessly staring off into space after Tamaki interrupted me. Today was not my day.

I looked back down at the flashing screen of my phone. Nine more unread messages. A sigh escaped my lips as I flipped open the phone and began reading over them.

**_Tamaki Suou (14:40) – _**_Don't you love Daddy anymore?_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:45) – _**_are you dead?!_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:48) – _**_kidnapped?_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:49)– _**_don't worry mon ami! We'll find you and the gypsies that took you!_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:51) – _**_YOU'LL BE BACK IN YOUR DADDY'S ARMS SAFE AND SOUND VERY VERY SOON_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:56) – _**_the twins called me crazy, tell them I'm not crazy!_

**_Tamaki Suou (14:59) –_**_ Haruhi pls :( :( :(_

**_Tamaki Suou (15:02) – _**_STOP IGNORING MEEEEEEE /3_

**_Kyoya Ootori (15:03) – _**_Haruhi, could you please just reply to the idiot so I can get some work done already?_

After overcoming the shock of actually receiving a text from the Shadow King, I couldn't help but chuckle. I toyed with the idea of actually texting them both back, but what would I say? If I replied to Tamaki then my day of studying would be non-existent, well, more so than it already had become. But I could take advantage of annoying Kyoya some more without his steely eyes instilling the fear of god into me.

**_Haruhi Fujioka (15:06) – _**_Why should I? I might get some work done while he bothers you instead, hahahaha_

As soon as I pressed send, I regretted it. It was like waving a bright red rag in front of a bull. I truly was an idiot. Clutching the phone to my chest, I could feel my heart pumping furiously through my thin shirt. My mind focussed on the supposedly 'cool' member of the host club as I waited for his inevitable retort. I knew very little about him, but if I had to admit it, he was probably the most tolerable of the hosts. He wasn't ridiculously immature and was beyond intelligent. He was the only one that treated me like a real human being and tended not to invade my personal space, other than obtaining random pieces of information from my father which I still hadn't forgiven him for.

I looked back down at my phone; four unread messages. Blocking Tamaki's number was becoming tempting.

**_Tamaki Suou (15:08) - _**_:'( :'( :'(_

**_Tamaki Suou (15:11) – _**_What has Daddy done?_

**_Tamaki Suou (15:13) – _**_HONEY SEMPAI WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SHARE SOME CAKE WITH US. Daddy will save all the strawberry one's for you…!_

**_Kyoya Ootori (15:15) – _**_I think you forget who you're dealing with. I might just suggest that he come pay you a visit._

I stared bug eyed at my phone. A visit from Tamaki was not what I needed right now. Plus, if my dad came home to find Tamaki in here with me, alone, then he might just kill the boy. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. My fingers stroked the key pad as I thought of how to respond without angering the beast too much.

**_Haruhi Fujioka (15:20) – _**_And maybe I'll just lock the door. Or I could always go out, I'm sure Tamaki would love to drag you on some mad witch hunt for his 'kidnapped little darling'._

Sending this message didn't fill me with as much dread as the last one. I went back through my inbox and deleted all the messages left from Tamaki. His nonsense wasn't worth filling up my inbox. My eyes flickered back to the textbook lying in front of me. Its pages, usually so enticing, were lulling me into a state of immense boredom. I closed the textbook and set it down on the floor, allowing myself to get comfortable on the bed as I awaited the next reply. The anticipation made the time pass much more slowly but at least I had found some source of amusement for the time being.

**_Kyoya Ootori (15:28) – _**_No worries, Ranka gave me a spare key in case of emergencies. If you go out, then I'm increasing your debt by 10%. Enough of my time is being wasted as it is. 19 unread messages and 12 missed calls are too many._

Sometimes I'd like to kill my dad. Why the hell would he give Kyoya a key? He's only ever been in the house once. My father was far too infatuated with the Ootori boy. I wasn't entirely sure what he found so attractive. Sure, he was handsome, tall, wealthy and intelligent. But the man was as cold as ice. Robotic even. Devil incarnate.

**_Haruhi Fujioka (15:34)– _**_Why my father loves you so much is beyond me. I want that key back. 10%? I can work that off in a month. Time for a little stroll I think.  
PS. I don't envy you. He hasn't dared to call me, hahaha_

I didn't bother getting out of bed. He didn't have to know that I wasn't leaving the house. Riling him up a little was enough exertion and my bed was becoming more and more comfortable as the minutes passed by. More texts filed into my inbox, Tamaki's name flashing on the screen each time. I didn't bother to open them and hit delete as each irritating message flashed their greetings.

**_Kyoya Ootori (15:47) – _**_Your father doesn't 'love me'. He merely trusts me. No can do. Don't make me laugh, I bet you can't even drag yourself out of bed. And a month? Don't flatter yourself. P.S. I hate you._

Laughter burst from my lips this time. All I could imagine was a pouting Shadow King glaring at his phone. The fact that he could accurately depict what I was doing right now didn't freak me out as much as it probably should have done. The Ootori boy always knew.

**_Haruhi Fujioka (15:53)– _**_Trust me, he'd marry you if he could. Give it back or I'll sic both Tamaki and the twins on you for the rest of the weekend. You? Laugh? I didn't think robots could laugh. P.S. I hate you too._

It didn't take as long for him to reply this time. It seems I had distracted him from his work more than he had anticipated. The idea of receiving the full attention of the devious busybody that was Kyoya, was unnerving but also somewhat flattering.

**_Kyoya Ootori (15:55) – _**_I don't think your father is my type, sorry. You wouldn't dare. Being a robot would be much easier. Unfortunately I'm all human, emotions and all. P.S. I'm glad we could agree on something._

**_Haruhi Fujioka (15:58) – _**_This is the most conversation I've ever gotten out of you before. _

I thought about erasing the words and just providing a real reply to what he had just sent me, but I had already pressed send without my mind completely processing the action first. Yanking the covers up around my shoulders, I got myself comfortable as I waited for a response. Tamaki's new unread messages lay forgotten in the depths of my inbox.

**_Kyoya Ootori (16:01) – _**_Talking means I'm not working, which makes it a waste of time._

I stared at the words on the screen until the letters blurred into each other in an illegible mess. The answer was typical Kyoya, but it contradicted the fact that here he was, talking to me about something other than financial records of the host club and how I need to improve my hosting designations each week. Maybe I'm talking to an imposter and for a moment I considered asking where the real Kyoya had gone.

**_Haruhi Fujioka (16:08) – _**_Then what's different now?_

His reply seemed instant.

**_Kyoya Ootori (16:09)– _**_I'm not sure._

The amusement I had felt at the beginning of this texting session had ebbed away and left me thoughtful. My phone was left discarded next to my forgotten textbook on the floor as I nuzzled into the pillows. I had no real response to provide Kyoya with, but as I drifted off into a light afternoon nap, the Shadow King was wandering through my thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hello, my little ducklings. Have another chapter~ I'm glad people liked the first chapter! Hopefully I'll have a few more posted before I start back at college again. For now, enjoy~

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The host club had been packed today. An unexpected rush in girls seeking out our undivided attentions was hard to accommodate when you haven't prepared yourself for it. Even the twins looked tired for once, as if someone had removed the super-strength batteries that usually had them bouncing around and causing havoc like unruly children. Tamaki was sprawled out on an armchair, head lolled back and mouth wide open as he snored. Honey had compensated with extra helpings of cake and double strength coffee to keep him at his bubbly best and I had watched the ever vigilant Mori eyeing his cousin's cup with a faint sense of longing.

In fact the only person that didn't look completely exhausted was Kyoya. My eyes narrowed as I took in his pristine appearance and comparing it to my own dishevelled attire and the dark circles now encompassing my eyes. It wasn't until I felt a buzzing in my pocket that my eyes broke away.

**_Kyoya Ootori (18:22) – _**_Is there something on my face or did you just feel the need to glare at me?_

My cheeks blazed as I snapped the phone shut and took up glaring more intensely at the bespectacled boy, this time with more loathing. I hadn't even noticed him taking out his phone; maybe he's invented something where he could send text messages with his mind. I wouldn't put it past him.

**_Kyoya Ootori (18:24) – _**_Yes, I thought you just had a staring problem. The twins are trying to talk to you._

I snapped to attention as my eyes ran over the last line of text. As the message foretold, I had a weary looking redhead on either side of me, obviously trying to get a better look at my phone.

"I think Haruhi's too caught up in her phone to talk to us, Hikaru." Kaoru sighed, his shoulders drooping as I flipped it shut before they could read who the message was from.

"Don't be silly, Kaoru! If we want her attention, then we just have to steal it. Problem solved," Hikaru reassured his brother as he snaked an arm around both mine and Kaoru's shoulders and reached out towards my hand.

Before either of them had the time to snatch the device out of my hands, I shoved it down into my pockets and swung around to face Hikaru.

"Stealing people's phone won't get you attention. All you had to do was tap me on the shoulder if you needed to talk to me so badly." My arms crossed loosely over my chest as I awaited his childish retort of the day. Instead I felt Kaoru's head rest upon my shoulder, his light chuckling sending vibrations across my neck and ear that make me shiver.

"We were only wondering if you wanted to join us tonight for some studying. Since we're all tired, we can just fuel ourselves with food and coffee back at our place." I observed Hikaru's mischievous grin and predicted that Kaoru had one to match.

"It sounds like you're trying to bribe me into visiting your house again." My fingers began to tap against arm in impatience. I almost didn't notice the faint buzzing coming from my pocket that signalled a new message. My eyes sought out Kyoya who was smirking from his position on the couch.

"Bribery? Never…" Hikaru muttered, sarcasm lacing the words.

I brushed Kaoru off my shoulder, which resulted in a near inaudible groan. Turning to face both of them, I couldn't help glance over each of the other hosts as they lazed about the music room; my eyes lingering on one in particular with extra distaste. "No way. Last time I came to your house, I was used as a dress up doll. I'd be better off studying at home."

"Aw, c'mon, Haruhi!" They both took in sync steps towards me.

"Don't be a spoilt sport," Kaoru pouted.

"No way." My face was deadpan. I hoped that if I didn't give them enough of a reaction now that they would get bored and search out a new target.

"What if we say please?" Hikaru attempted puppy dog eyes but they didn't have the same intensity that usually shone in Tamaki's sad eyes when he pulled that stunt.

"No way in hell."

Kaoru sighed, shuffled backwards and buried his hands in his pockets. "Forget it, Hikaru. I'm too tired for this today. We should just go to bed."

"Yeah, being cuddled up to you beats studying any day of the week." Hikaru was on it in a second, pulling his brother into his arms, the identical faces staring longingly into each other's eyes.

"The girls have all gone now, you can quit the act." I turned on my heel and began to escape the black hole that was the twin's forbidden yaoi act. Unlike most girls, I couldn't stand to watch them caress each other like that, especially when the act didn't have their usual audience.

My phone buzzed again. Whipping it out my pocket, I dropped down onto the couch opposite Tamaki and opened the newest messages.

**_Kyoya Ootori (18:29) – _**_Your distress does provide some form of entertainment for me at least. Good luck._

**_Kyoya Ootori (18:35) – _**_Stop looking at me as though this is all my fault. I don't control minds, believe it or not. _

**_Haruhi Fujioka (18:37)– _**_I'm glad my misfortune is funny to you. I wouldn't be giving you a deathglare if you weren't sniggering at me instead of helping me, ass._

**_Kyoya Ootori (18:38)– _**_Believe me, it is. I'm an ass now? I dare you to say that to my face._

Without even realising what I was doing, I was up on my feet, striding towards Kyoya who was typing some random formula into a seemingly intricate spread-sheet. His eyes flickered up to meet mine with a small trace of surprise shining in their steely depths.

"Can I help you with something, Haruhi?" He raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow up at me in challenge.

"Yeah, sempai. You're an ass."

For a moment the only noise in the room was Tamaki's snoring echoing off the regal walls of the music room and all eyes were on us. Kyoya looked slightly surprised then amusement flooded his features and a smirk pulled at his lips.

"It seems I underestimated you," his voice was quiet, so only I could hear the humour in his words. He was chuckling now, glasses flashing in the copyrighted Kyoya style.

"Guess you don't know everything really, huh, sempai?" I didn't wait for a reply and went to search out my beyond heavy school bag. Slipping it over my shoulder, I waved my goodbyes to the hosts and sauntered out the doors of the music room and into the comforting silence of the corridor.

I took my time as I traversed the many corridors of Ouran, making my way towards the exit. Normally I would be rushing about, nose always buried too deep within a book to truly appreciate the beauty of the building I spent so many hours in. Without the noise of the other students it was easier to stand back and admire my surroundings. A buzzing in my pocket caught my attention. I fumbled with the device and read the new message.

**_Kyoya Ootori (18:55) – _**_Thanks to that I now have the twins begging me not to kill you. I won't, but I might increase your debt by 5% just for this nuisance. _

**_Haruhi Fujioka (18:57) – _**_Can't you just kill the twins instead?_

**_Kyoya Ootori (19:00) – _**_That might be the best plan I've heard all day._

Giggling, I pushed open the large ornate door that led me out by the oversized fountain at the front of the academy. I thought back to my first days in the host club, when I had to wade through those waters to gather up all my soaked belongings. In the past few months so much had changed; I was finally accepted, and even liked, by the majority of the elite population that I would be spending the next couple of years with. I may still be a commoner to them, but that wasn't seen as such a bad thing anymore.

As I walked out onto the road that would eventually lead me home, I glimpsed back at the school and let out a tired sigh. My bed was calling out to me after the day's hard work and for once I would be happy to give into laziness.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hello, my sweets. Two chapters in one day? I'm too good to you all, clearly. Having a lovely lazy day, alternating between lots of coffee, writing and watching QI. Thinking of reformatting how I've been putting down the text messages so it's clearer who's texting who in each. Hmm...

Enjoy~

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**_Hikaru Hitachiin (11:11) – _**_Hey :) answer your doooor!_

**_Kaoru Hitachiin (11:12) – _**_You know you want to let us in (u)_

**_Tamaki Suou (11:15) – _**_Honey Sempai says he'll kick down the door! Please at least let Daddy inside :'( _

**_Hikaru Hitachiin (11:19) – _**_Tamaki thinks you've died. Prove us wrong~_

**_Kaoru Hitachiin (11:25) – _**_Tamaki's chatting up your 80 yr old next door neighbour. _

**_Hikaru Hitachiin (11:26) – _**_Tamaki the gold digger hahahahaaaa_

**_Kaoru Hitachiin (11:29) – _**_She wants to invite him in for milk and cookies._

**_Tamaki Suou (11:34) – _**_HARUHI, LET DADDY IN. I'LL CRY!_

**_Mitsukuni Haninozuka (11:38) – _**_Tama chan won't let us go home (,0 n 0,) it's cold out here! pls let us in~_

**_Takashi Morinozuka (11:40) –_**_ tell them ur not in_

The messages had been amusing me. I had plugged in some headphones at least half an hour ago so that I didn't have to listen to the nonsense that was going on outside my front door. Today was my day for relaxation; my cosiest pyjamas were on and a stack of magazines and books were resting on the table just waiting for me to get my hands on them. My dad had left before I had even gotten the chance to make him breakfast, so I had no real cleaning to take care of either. It was bliss. However I knew that if even Mori-sempai was desperate for escape then I felt that I could at least help him out. I started writing a text to Kaoru, who I guessed would be the most rational out of the three idiots I could hear arguing over Tamaki's need for more money on the other side of the thin wall.

**_Haruhi Fujioka (11:45) – _**_Sorry guys, out at the library. Maybe next time :)_

**_Kaoru Hitachiin (11:46) – _**_LIAR_

**_Hikaru Hitachiin (11:46) – _**_LIAR_

**_Tamaki Suou (11:46) – _**_LIAR_

The voices outside were getting louder. Regardless of how much I loved them, I needed some time to myself. I turned the music up a little louder; the volume was beginning to hurt my ears but it beat listening to them squabble. Only one of the hosts hadn't texted me yet so either he wasn't there, didn't care or was their last resort to make me open the door.

**_Haruhi Fujioka (11:50) – _**_Hey there, Shadow King. I know you're out there too. Do one of your magic tricks and make them disappear :(_

**_Kyoya Ootori (11:52) – _**_Ofc I'm out here. Don't you think that if I was a magician I would have turned them all into frogs months ago?_

**_Kyoya Ootori (11:53) – _**_And you suck at lying. Just let the idiots in. It's starting to rain._

I checked out my bedroom window to see if it really was starting to rain. Leaving them out in the rain was probably a bit harsh, no matter how much I wanted a quiet, relaxing day to myself. The small droplets that collided with the glass answered my question and I began digging about in the drawer for the front door key. It looked like my dad had taken my key which wasn't good news for me. Then it dawned on me. I went back to my comfortable spot on the sofa with the perfect viewing angle of the small television in the corner and picked up my phone again.

**_Haruhi Fujioka (11:58) – _**_I thought you said that my dad had given you a key?_

**_Kyoya Ootori (12:00) – _**_To be used in emergencies, yes. Do idiots dragging me out of bed count as an emergency?_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (12:01) – _**_Just come in already -_-_

A few seconds later, I could hear the jangle of keys and the click of the lock as the door swung open. A stampede of damp haired boys shoved their way into the small living room before closing the door behind them.

"God, Kyoya. Why didn't you say you had a key hours ago?!" Hikaru whined as both twins shook their heads side to side, sending droplets of water splattering across the floor.

"Yeah, Kyo-chan. It was cold!" Honey pouted, his huge eyes glassy and watering.

"It's for emergencies only. Not barging into people's homes like Tamaki uses our house keys for," Kyoya spoke as though this was the most obvious thing ever.

"He doesn't wander into our houses, only yours Kyoya-sempai," one of the twins called from the bathroom, returning with Tamaki carrying a pile of towels that towered up over their heads. I wasn't even aware that I owned that many towels.

"He'll stop doing that if he knows what's good for him." The murderous aura enveloped Kyoya momentarily before he restored his usual calm demeanour and took a seat beside me. He caught my eye and directed my attention to Tamaki with a slight tilt of the head, just in time for us to witness Hikaru tripping the clueless blonde boy and sending him flying across the room and landing with his head in my lap.

"What the…? You dastardly twins, what did you do that fo- Oh, hey there, Haruhi. Um, I'll- Uh…" Tamaki began thrashing around, tangled in the towels he had been carrying as I stared down at him with as much calmness as I could muster.

"TAMAKI THE PERVERT! TAMAKI THE PERVERT!" The twins cried out boisterously as Honey watched with wide eyes.

"How did you…" I muttered, eyeing the smirking boy beside me.

"Maybe it was magic," he muttered back, before suddenly shoving Tamaki off my lap and onto the floor with a loud crash.

"Kyoyaaaaa! You're meant to be Mommy! Mommy helps Daddy! Not shove Daddy onto the floor!" The blonde lump on the floor rolled back towards the couch and latched onto the Shadow King's leg.

"Unremarkably, I can't recall ever marrying you, Tamaki. Or having any children. Shouldn't Haruhi be the mother? She is after all the only female." With each sentence, he shook his leg with more vigour until Tamaki was sent careening into the table, my abandoned pile of magazines toppling over onto the groaning boy.

"It would make more sense, Tama-chan!" Honey bounced over to us, wrapped head to toe in my dad's array of fluffy pink towels.

"Then what would that make Kyoya-sempai?" Hikaru tapped his chin in thought.

"He'd be our family's accountant," Kaoru sniggered as he wrapped a towel around his brother's shoulders.

"Or a lawyer," Hikaru grinned, shining eyes seeking out the heap on the floor that was Tamaki. "'Daddy' would constantly need one with all his perverted escapades!"

"I am not a pervert!" The Host Club King's flailing arms sent my magazines flying around the room. I couldn't help but sigh as I slowly witnessed the mess building up around me.

"Really? You had us fooled!" The twins called out in unison.

"I should have left you all out in the rain," I grumbled. Swiping a towel from Mori, I flung it over Kyoya's head of dripping raven hair. "You're getting the furniture wet. And the rest of you are just making a mess!"

Kyoya scrubbed at his hair for a few seconds before whipping the fabric away from his head and dropping it over my own. "You told me to let them in."

"Wait, Kyoya, you can text? Why do you never respond to any of my texts, Kyoyaaaa!?" Tamaki whined.

"Because you're a pain in the ass," Hikaru, Kaoru, Kyoya and I all managed to say in unison. Each of us blinked and scratched our heads before brushing the incident off as Tamaki went to his new 'corner of woe' to grow mushrooms.

"Stop it, sempai! Go grow mushrooms in your own house!" I yelled, clenching my fists tightly and trying to restrain myself from hitting the boy.

Kaoru snickered, "Or go see your 80 year old girlfriend next door. I'm sure she would comfort you."

Hikaru attempted to add to what his brother had just said but was struggling to breathe between the bursts of laughter. His brother joined him on the floor, rolling about in glee.

The rest of the day went by quite quickly. I watched as my house was trashed several times throughout the few hours they stuck around and each time I would clean up after them and threaten to throw them out if they made yet another mess. When I wasn't tidying up, I was squashed on the two-seater couch between Kyoya and Tamaki, caught in a routine of shuffling further towards either of the boys as Tamaki got too touchy-feely then as I realised I was far too close to Kyoya. It was a much less comfortable day on the couch than I had originally planned.

Finally as I watched them all leaving, after receiving several hugs from Honey, Tamaki and the twins, I managed to relax fully. Relief flooded me as I closed the door behind them and threw myself onto the couch, burying my face in a pillow. I was drifting off into slumber when a buzzing wrenched me free of my semi-conscious state. The words were blurry on the phone screen and I had to scrunch up my eyes just to make out the contents of the message.

**_Kyoya Ootori (22:13) – _**_I'll make Tamaki replace the plates he smashed. Goodnight x_

Once the words finally made sense in my mind, I was surprised as to how quickly he had suddenly become so casual towards me. The Shadow King was always cold, elusive, and sneaky. But this was quickly feeling like I was talking to a completely different person. The thought was taking up too much processing power of my sleep deprived mind, so I tossed the phone on the table and let myself drift off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Another new chapter~ It's so weird only writing in one viewpoint for once! :c

Enjoy!~

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Lunch break had finally come and although my measly bento box was nothing in comparison to the luxurious foods that the students around me were currently eating, it still tasted like heaven to me. The morning had been filled with exams for most students and so would the afternoon. I looked around me and each of the host club members seemed reasonably calm in comparison to our other classmates that were sat with large textbooks out beside their lunches, cramming in as much food and knowledge as was simultaneously possible.

"It can't have gone that badly, Hika-chan. I'm sure you've passed it!" Honey soothed, giving Hikaru a brief hug inbetween bites of cake.

The redhead sighed, tapping his fingers listlessly against the table with apathetic eyes. "For question 16, I drew a picture of a giraffe. I highly doubt that's the answer in any maths question."

I fought the urge to giggle, mainly because of how gloomy the redhead was in comparison to his usual behaviour. Honey had been trying to force feed him cupcakes and chocolate torte, but ended up just pasting the twin's face with frosting and chocolate and missing his mouth entirely. Kaoru's arm was around his brother's shoulders, rubbing soft circles through the blue blazer.

Tamaki pointed at Hikaru with an accusatory finger, leaning over the wide dining table excessively to make his point. "You should have studied harder! Haruhi, Kyoya and Honey all manage to stay top in their classes and keep up with their extra-curricular activities! We should get you a tutor!"

"Bit harsh, boss. But maybe a tutor would be good," Kaoru scolded our self proclaimed leader.

The familiar buzzing in my pocket had me reaching into its depths and pulling out the small flip phone. Kyoya's name flashed across the screen and I raised an eyebrow at him in question. He barely changed the expression on his face, but it quite clearly said "read it and find out, idiot".

**_Kyoya Ootori (12:22) – _**_I could be really cruel right now..._

**_Haruhi Fujioka (12:24) – _**_You always have the chance to be cruel. But how so?_

**_Kyoya Ootori (12:25) – _**_I was about to volunteer you as Hikaru's tutor :) _

**_Haruhi Fujioka (12:26) – _**_I swear to god, I will kill you_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (12:27) – _**_Kyoya! DON'T YOU DARE! I WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE HELL!_

"Well, Hikaru, there are some obvious candidates for a tutor here. If I had the time, I would do it myself. But I think the best person for the job would be Haruhi, since she's covering the same topics as you it will all be fresh in her mind unlike Honey-sempai or I," Kyoya looked beyond smug as he spoke, a small sparkle was in his eyes that definitely wasn't caused by the glare of his glasses.

"Kyoya-sempai…" I growled, wishing I was sat further up the table so I could unleash some of my fury on the boy. He turned his head to face me and gave me one of his trademarked fake 'hosting smiles' that quickly mutated into a smirk.

"Hey, that would be great!" Hikaru cried, grasping one of my hands from across the table. His smile lit up the room and Honey looked relieved that he wouldn't be in charge of cheering up his kouhai any longer.

"You can start tonight, Haruhi! I'll cook us some dinner while you're both working!" Kaoru was bouncing in his seat then grabbed my other hand in both of his, rubbing soft circles into the skin. I was about to tell them that I couldn't tutor Hikaru, I had enough studying to do for myself and staying top of the class was mandatory for my scholarship, but the pure happiness on their faces made any detesting thoughts melt from my mind. Resigning myself to the reality of spending much more time at the Hitachiin residence, I began to steel myself for any and all hijinks that I was sure to befall.

"You can cook, Kaoru?" I asked, confused as to why he'd bother when they all hired such amazing chefs already. Kaoru's face flushed and began to laugh nervously.

"He tries to. If the kitchen doesn't go up in flames, his cooking's actually quite good," Hikaru laughed, giving my hand a squeeze and a light punch to Kaoru's shoulder.

"Hikaru!" He yanked away from my hands; face glowing red and eyes narrowed at his brother.

"Hey! It was a compliment!" He waved his hands defensively in front of his face and chuckled, coaxing his brother into relaxing again.

Kaoru responded by moping in his seat and crossing his arms tightly across his chest. "A backwards one, at best!"

**_Haruhi Fujioka (12:38) – _**_What did I ever do to deserve this?_

**_Kyoya Ootori (12:39) – _**_Nothing, I was just getting bored_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (12:40) – _**_You're always bored._

**_Kyoya Ootori (12:42) – _**_Not so much with you around_

His last text perplexed me slightly, but I brushed it off and glared at him for the remainder of the lunch break. He was quite satisfied with himself, if the faint smirk that pulled at his lips said anything. Tamaki wasn't pleased with the idea of me spending even more time with the twins, especially alone, and demanded that he come along. The twins vehemently detested the idea and threatened the beheading of the blonde's favourite stuffed toy, Beary, if he stepped foot in their home during the tutoring sessions. After much heated debate, Tamaki finally caved and started to grow mushrooms under the table by my feet. Not kicking him was a true test of my willpower, but that didn't stop either of the Hitachiin brothers.

By the time we actually got to the Hitachiin mansion, I was ready to shoot myself. The afternoon exams were exhausting and more studying was the last thing on my mind. Kaoru offered me a selection of coffees, which I downed eagerly for the lovely buzz of caffeine. I smiled graciously up at him, in his stylish black and silver apron before he scurried off back to the kitchen areas to prepare us dinner.

"What are we going to study then, Haruhi?" Hikaru's enthusiasm had dulled since lunch time, probably from the second bought of exams we had just completed.

"Well, the exams on Friday cover English, Italian, History and Literature. So which one do you want to go over first?" I laid out a variety of textbooks on the table, letting him browse them with a look of disdain on his face.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before picking one up by the corner and inspected it thoroughly as though it was some foreign anomaly, "I suck equally at all of them. So whatever, English."

"You don't suck at any of them; you just haven't studied enough is all." I took the book from him, carrying it in a much more careful and respectful manner. Flicking to an appropriate page, I scanned through the words to see what questions I could set for my new 'student'.

His fingers skimmed the gorgeous chrome table, drawing random shapes and avoiding meeting my eye. "No, I do, Kaoru usually spends hours going over this stuff with me. I would be bottom of the class if it's weren't for him."

"Thinking so lowly of yourself isn't going to get you anywhere." I flicked him on the ear which he failed to avoid.

"Alright, _Fujioka-sensei," _he winked at me and pulled me down into the seat next to him. "Let's just get started already."

Throughout the session, I had the chance to smack Hikaru around the back of the head several times, which actually made it more of a stress relieving activity for me than a study session. Kaoru joined us an hour later with plates laden with a variety of spicy chicken dishes. I was surprised that his cooking was rather quite good and not burnt beyond saving.

As I popped another piece of chicken off a skewer, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out and instantly the Hitachiin twins' mischievous eyes were on me.

**_Kyoya Ootori (20:24) – _**_Hope you've had fun ;)_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (20:25) – _**_I'm being hand fed some lovely chicken, I can't complain ;)_

**_Kyoya Ootori (20:27) – _**_My attempt at cruelness backfired? :(_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (20:28) – _**_Definitely. I also have the excuse to hit Hikaru when he annoys me and pass it off as a teaching method. So thanks!_

**_Kyoya Ootori (20:29) – _**_I'll have to try harder next time x_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (20:30) – _**_Bring it on, Shadow King x_

Breath tickled my ear and soft chuckling made me aware of one redhead now only millimetres away from my face. "The Shadow King, huh?"

"Kaoru! Don't you understand personal space?!" Swatting him away only made him laugh harder. Hikaru didn't look quite as amused, his expression showed something closer to suspicion.

"Such a thing doesn't exist in our house," he breathed into my ear. I fought not to react, hoping he'd give up if I didn't respond as he'd expected. After a few seconds he pulled away, smirking.

"Why is Kyoya texting you? The only time I see him using his phone is for business, or telling Tamaki to piss off," Hikaru leant forward over the table, narrowing his eyes as he inspected my face for traces of embarrassment or lying.

I merely shrugged and tucked the device back into the safety of my pocket. "He just wanted to know how the tutoring was going."

"Uh huuuuh…" He relaxed into his chair once again, a hint of suspicion still lingering in the depths of his eyes as they flickered between his brother and I.

"Well… Who wants dessert?!" Kaoru cheered from the seat beside me. Thankfully it broke the tension and I stuck my hand up in the air with enthusiasm like I was a young child eagerly waiting to ask a question.

The identical boys chuckled and bolted off towards the kitchen, leaving me in the silence of the grand dining room, staring at the door they had exited through.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **New chapter, my pretties~ I'm speeeeding up events, unlike with how I went about with Perfect Storm, mainly so I don't get bored with writing again. Thank you for all the lovely reviews! Keep 'em up, they make me rather happy. Enjoy!~

* * *

I swatted around the bedside table, looking for the offending item that was currently chirping away and ruining my morning lie-in. The first rays of light from what was to be a beautiful Saturday morning were only just making their way through the thin curtains. Resolving to wear my granddad's old glasses, I was finally able to look at the new message that had dared to wake me. Next time, I noted to myself, remember to put the damn thing on silent.

**_Kyoya Ootori (07:04) – _**_Idiots incoming. Lock your doors. -_-_

It was pleasing to know I wasn't the only one who was rudely awakened, even if he was the one to wake me, and to receive some kind of warning as to how the rest of my day was going to be spent.

**_Haruhi Fujioka (07:07) – _**_Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed :P_

**_Kyoya Ootori (07:08) – _**_No, I'm awake, that's what's wrong_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (07:10) – _**_Why do you never set your private police guys on them? _

**_Kyoya Ootori (07:12) – _**_I'd rather not have Honey and Mori annihilate them. Locked my bedroom door, how long do you think that'll hold them off?_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (07:13) – _**_I give you a few minutes. Quick, jump out the window!_

**_Kyoya Ootori (07:14) – _**_Too much effort…_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (07:15) – _**_lazy bastard_

I assumed that his lack of reply was due to the host club making it into his room. Thinking about getting up wasn't a pleasant thought, but I'd rather have them barge in whilst I'm dressed rather than sitting around in pyjamas. Swinging my feet over the edge of the bed, I forced myself to stand and reach for some clothing.

After only 30 minutes, there was knocking at the door. I peeked out the viewing hole to see a close up Tamaki's amethyst eye. I took my time to unlock the door, savouring the last moments of freedom I had for the day.

"Right, you aren't coming in here, my dad's still asleep," I ordered, blocking the doorway with an arm and leg, barely stopping Tamaki from stampeding into the house.

"But your Daddy's right here!" Tamaki shuffled back after being blockaded, speaking as though he was stating the obvious.

"Her real dad, Tono," the twins groaned in unison, prodding the host club king mercilessly in the sides.

Tamaki shoved them away and stroked his chin in deep thought, "Then what are we gonna do?"

"You're telling me you idiots didn't have a reason to be dragging me out of bed?" Kyoya's murderous aura grew larger, shrouding him in darkness, only his glasses glaring menacingly through the misty surrounding.

"Of course not, Kyoya…" the blonde boy backed away from his terrifying best friend, colour draining from his face. "Let's go shopping! The commoner's mall should be nice and busy today!"

"It's only 8am, the shops won't be open yet, sempai. You could have let us stay in bed for an extra couple of hours," I deadpanned, contemplating trudging back indoors and slamming the door behind me.

"Yeah, none of us get up at 5am like you do, boss," Kaoru yawned, stretched out over the railing. "With the exception of Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai, I suppose."

"We only get up to train, then I go back to bed. Otherwise I can get cranky," Honey supplied us with, jumping up happily on the spot.

"Ah," Mori grunted in agreement.

"Then let's go for a walk in the park then, gang! Commoner's enjoy such an activity as it doesn't cost them anything, and they need the exercise." Tamaki looked very proud of himself, having found a solution to our problem, and for supplying us with some knowledge of the 'commoners' whilst he was at it.

"Sempai…" I grumbled, facepalming.

In the end, we couldn't think of anything better to do. The park wasn't too far away, so we strolled over, listening to Tamaki's random facts about commoner's lifestyles and uses for things that they found so alien.

"You look like you need some coffee, sempai," I teased, pointing to the dark circles under the boy's eyes.

He scowled, swiping away my hands. "Shut it. Of course I need coffee; I'm running on 3 hours sleep."

A pang of sympathy went out to my kouhai. "Well there's plenty of cafés nearby, we could ditch them."

"Devious. I like it," a smirk lit up his cantankerous expression at last.

"They wouldn't even notice. They're too busy listening to Tamaki's commoner babble." I grabbed him by the hand and tugged us to the right, heading up towards the closest café I could find. It was small, quaint and cheap; everything I guessed that Kyoya would hate, but he looked relieved as we dropped down into the old plastic chairs.

"We're lucky this place is even open."

"Anywhere would have been fine, as long as I have coffee."

"There'll only be instant coffee…"

"Caffeine is caffeine, here." He tossed a few notes towards me, enough to buy at least twenty cups of coffee in fact. I ordered quickly, adding on a side order of toast, butter and jams for both of us. As I set the cups down on the table, Kyoya swooped up the cup and began to drain the contents like his life depended on it.

"How you can drink that and not scald your mouth is beyond me, sempai." I took a sip myself as the waitress laid down the toast for us, smiling flirtatiously at Kyoya as she did. He ignored the attention completely, but held out his cup to her and ordered a refill. She scuttled off behind the counter, eager to carry out the boy's request.

"And how you do that. The mind of a woman is an anomaly to me." I slumped back down in my chair, groaning.

"Now, now, Haruhi. You may be a part time cross dresser, but underneath that you are still a woman. And each woman is attracted to something." He tapped his fingers impatiently on the wobbly table, glaring in the direction of the waitress who was faffing about with his coffee. My mind tried to find an example of any form of attraction I had to someone, but it was difficult. Sure, there were fleeting thoughts that I may like someone; I'd experienced it with a couple of the hosts already. But I knew that it was just that, fleeting.

"Or perhaps I'm the anomaly," I grumbled, finishing my small mug of coffee and pushing it away from me.

A dry laugh burst from his lips, "And you call me a robot."

"Only when your robotic tendencies come out," I retorted, crossing my arms defensively and sticking out my tongue.

"Shut up…" It looked as though he wanted to mirror my childish actions, but his stubborn willpower stopped him from making a spectacle of himself.

"Savour the peace and quiet; it won't take long for them to find us." I stretched in the seat, noting how cold and uncomfortable the plastic was.

"Unless we find somewhere else to hide." An impish smile stretched across his face as his glasses flashed.

"Go on." My eyes narrowed, suspicion flaring a warning in my mind.

"Tokyo is a big place, I'm sure we can find somewhere to relax. Or we can go back to mine and have a proper breakfast."

"Breakfast sounds good." The waitress reappeared with a fresh cup of coffee for Kyoya, winking at him as she placed in in front of him.

He emptied the cup in seconds, wiped his lips with the back of his hand and came to a stand. "Then let's get out of here. I don't think I can drink another cup of this poor excuse for coffee."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **New chapter for you all, my pumpkins~ I've been ill :c and couldn't bring myself to do anything, even writing, so enjoy this update!

* * *

**_Tamaki Suou (08:54) – _**_Haruhi, where are you?! :(_

**_Tamaki Suou (08:59) – _**_Daddy is worried about you!_

**_Tamaki Suou (09:06) – _**_IS KYOYA WITH YOU?!_

**_Tamaki Suou (09:11) –_**_ KYOYA, BE NICE TO MY LITTLE GIRL, MOMMY MUST PROTECT HER_

**_Tamaki Suou (09:18) – _**_:( :( :(_

"Boss, she isn't going to answer you," Hikaru groaned and snatched the phone away from the boy. Tamaki flapped about in vain trying to retrieve the device from the redheaded devil.

"I bet Kyoya's keeping her busy," Kaoru wagged his eyebrows at his friends, waiting for his insinuation to be processed by the twins' favourite victim.

"Yeah, reaaaaal busy…" Hikaru drawled out, winking at Kaoru.

Tamaki pulled himself together and forgot about his abducted phone for the time being. "What are you pair on about? Mommy will bring her back."

"It probably wasn't even Haruhi's idea to run off," both twins stroked their chins, appearing as if in deep thought. "She lives in this area, so she can't be lost."

"But… but what if she's been kidnapped?!" Tamaki sobbed, whirling round on Honey and Mori and staring up at the with puppy dog eyes, silently begging for emotional support.

"Haru-chan will be fine!" Honey patted his kouhai on the head, carefree smile firmly in place.

"Ah," Mori grumbled with a single nod of the head.

"But… but… but…" The half-French boy clawed at his sempai's jumper, worry still evident.

"Let's just go to the park, they may have taken a shortcut." And with that, the Hitachiin brothers led the small group on their journey to find the closest park, eyes still searching out their lost friends as they went.

* * *

I was tempted to throw my phone away now, or if I was a little more tech savvy I would have blocked the number of our host club king and lived happily ever after. Kyoya was glancing at me questioningly as we walked side by side down the street. My face must have shown some of my distaste towards the device in my hands. "It only took Tamaki half an hour to figure out we lost them. Guess you won."

"Of course I won, I don't take bets unless my victory is a certainty," he said matter-of-factly, small smile playing at his lips in smug satisfaction.

"I find that hard to believe. You're not omniscient. You can't predict the future. You just like to take notes."

He shrugged, flashing his glasses. "Maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong."

The phone vibrated again, reminding me that it was still in my hand. "Ugh, he won't stop messaging me."

"And that's why I turned my phone off," he chuckled. We turned down into a long driveway that I assumed led us to the Ootori estate.

"Oh… I hadn't thought of that."

I switched off the phone and tucked it away into my bag for safe keeping. We quickly made our way into his home, his security staff eyeing me warily but waving us through. The building was large and the décor tasteful, despite being somewhat minimalistic. It wasn't classically styled and regal like Tamaki's home, or fashionably modern like the Hitachiin residence, but still very impressive without being quite so imposing. Other than the occasional maid wandering about, the house seemed quiet and empty of life.

Corridor after staircase after corridor finally brought us to his room, or at least the lounge attached to it. Kyoya dropped down onto one of the black leather couches and let his tired eyes flutter close for just a moment of relaxation. I tentatively sat down on the couch adjacent to him and let my eyes roam over the pristine and organised room. The walls were bare and painted in a neutral tone, a large window on the western wall bathing the room in natural light. A long set of black dressers lined one wall and a large coffee table rested beside the couches. Eventually my eyes came back to Kyoya who was now staring at me with a glint of curiosity in his steely depths. I was suddenly feeling somewhat nervous about being in the Ootori home. It wasn't too long ago that I believed Kyoya to tolerate me at best, but here I was seeking shelter with him from our ever energetic friends.

"Are you wanting some breakfast then? I assume you didn't have time to make any before we arrived at your house," he sat up a littler straighter as he spoke. My stomach answered for him, grumbling as loudly as it could. I felt my cheeks warm slightly as I laughed off the embarrassment but he just chuckled and stood up to leave, stretching his back and arms as he waited for me.

Again we made our way through the maze of a house until we came upon an enormous dining room that could rival the size of any restaurant. One dark solid wood table ran down the centre of the room with at least ten chairs running down each side. I doubted that this table would be used for mere family dinners like I would expect from most dining rooms. He pulled out a seat for me at the nearest end which I took graciously then he was off to order something from the family's chefs. The thought of food had my stomach rumbling once again just as violently as before, which I'm glad no one was around to hear this time.

Kyoya returned quite quickly, coffee in hand, followed by a butler who was carrying a plate full of freshly baked croissants, jams and sliced fruits. It was simple but delicious and I dug into the mini feast with enthusiasm. Quickly, the food disappeared from the plate leaving only a small accumulation of crumbs. I sat back in the firm dining chair, stomach finally satisfied.

"Thanks, Kyoya-sempai. That was great." I smiled gratefully over at him which he returned with a slight upturn of the lips. A maid shuffled in and carried away the remnants of our breakfast. We returned to his room, slowly strolling through the empty hallways.

"Are your family all out at work, Kyoya-sempai?" We settled back down on the couches from before but this time I managed to relax into the expensive seating.

He took his time switching on the large television that hung on the far wall and selecting a channel before answering me. "I'd assume so. My father may be in his study but my brothers will be out at the hospitals. And my sister lives with her husband but she likes to turn up unexpectedly from time to time."

I nodded, showing that I was listening, though my eyes were fixed on the magnificent yet ridiculously oversized television set. "Don't you get lonely in this huge house, sempai?"

I regretted asking it, but the thought had popped into my mind as we'd wandered the house. It was such a large building for so few people, so much so that it felt as though no one lived here at all. His eyes flickered over to me briefly, burning with curiosity, then fixed themselves back on the screen. "I suppose it could be considered lonely. But I am usually kept busy enough with study, work and the host club that I don't have to worry about such things."

Somehow I didn't completely believe his words. My hand reached over without my mind fully comprehending what it was doing until it was too late, and gently laid itself upon his hand and began stroking softly with my thumb. He looked momentarily shocked but he either hid it well or let it pass and didn't brush me off as we continued to watch the randomly selected movie.

* * *

"Tama-chan! What are you doing?" Honey called across the park from his perch on the swings. Mori sat motionless on the swing beside him whilst the blonde cousin propelled himself higher and higher into the air. Tamaki was weaving between the trees and other foliage, darting about in searching of his lost daughter and his mother figure of the family. He was still convinced that they were lost in the park, perhaps kidnapped and/or injured.

"He's just being an idiot, Honey-sempai." Hikaru tossed a ball several metres across the grassy area to his twin, trying to kill their boredom.

"So no different than usual," Kaoru laughed, capturing the ball and launching it back.

"He's just - worried, Hika-chan,- Kao-chan. You - should try calling - Kyo-chan's house,- ne?" Honey called over to the twins as he came to the peak of each of his swings.

"I doubt Haruhi would go back to Kyoya-sempai's." The redheads paused their game to look over at the older boys. Kaoru scratched the back of his head, his face contorted with confusion as he spoke, "She's more likely to have gone home or into one of the shops."

"We wouldn't have lost them if Tamaki-sempai hadn't been going on about commoner rituals again," Hikaru added, pulling out his phone, ready to phone up his sempai's home in the off chance they might be there.

"If we aren't going to go look for them," Kaoru began, lying back in the grass, arms spread wide.

"Then we might as well go home or find something better to do," Hikaru continued, mimicking his brothers actions.

"'Cause this is boring," both redheads called out in unison.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Hello again, my little ducklings~

Thank you for all the new favourites, follows and reviews! They make me rather happy indeed :3 so keep it up! Have another chapter and I hope you all enjoy!~

* * *

I was having a pleasant dream. Before me was a vast assortment of foods, a buffet all for me. There was sushi, meats, dumplings, breads, pastries, cakes and many other things that I couldn't even name but they still made my mouth water. And just as I was about to sink my teeth into some Ootoro for the first time, I was jerked awake by a shout and a shriek. Even my pillow seemed perturbed by the noise and it began to shift about under me. Wait… what? As everything came into focus, I found I was looking up into Tamaki's glistening amethyst eyes and Kyoya's sleep addled and irritated face. I shot up and almost head butted Tamaki in the process when I realised that my head had been resting safely in Kyoya's lap. And there was me thinking that my pillow had come to life or something. My cheeks blazed and I wasn't entirely sure if I was more annoyed at myself for having fallen asleep in such a position or at the host club for having interrupted. Either way, I wasn't pleased about being woken from a rather pleasant sleep. A fierce aura emanated from Kyoya, who clearly wasn't pleased at being awoken for the second time in one day by his friends and the hosts knew in an instant that waking us wasn't their brightest idea of the day.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki lunged forward and grabbed me firmly by the shoulders, shaking me weakly. His eyes were wide and disbelieving. "What are you doing? You can't be in such compromising positions with your Mommy! It's just wrong!"

I brushed his hands off with ease so I could sit up straight and rub the sleep from my eyes. He whimpered at the dismissal and took a couple of shaky steps backwards to stand in between the twins. "What are you doing here, sempai?"

"Tono thought you had both been kidnapped and killed or something stupid," Hikaru glared sideways at Tamaki as he spoke and prodded him in the side with a bony elbow.

"But Honey-sempai suggested we phone here," Kaoru added, raising an eyebrow at me. His eyes flickered between the pair of us on the couch as a light bulb seemed to light up above his head.

Honey bounced over and leapt into my arms. His fluffy blonde locks tickled my face as he nuzzled into the side of my neck and spoke at the same time. "We were worried about you, Haru-chan!"

"And then we find you asleep on Mommy's lap! Kyoya, explain!" Tamaki wrenched the smaller blonde off me to carry on his tirade of shaking and weeping before rounding on his best friend with accusatory eyes and a pout that would rival a toddler taking a tantrum.

"We fell asleep whilst watching a movie, you buffoon, which is bound to happen when you wake your friends up early on their very rare days off," Kyoya growled, narrowing his eyes to glare at the group menacingly. They all backed off a couple of steps to avoid being enveloped in the threatening darkness that surrounded the usually cool member of the host club. Thankfully it didn't scare me as it normally would, presumably due to our mutual dislike for the boys at that moment in time.

"Then why didn't you invite Daddy back to your house, Kyoya? We could have had private family time!" Tamaki grovelled, pout intensifying.

"Boss, maybe they just wanted some _alone _time," Kaoru suggested, biting his lip to try to stop himself from laughing. Honey raised his eyebrows and his mouth formed a perfect O shape before he began to giggle. Tamaki went through the motions of looking perplexed to angry to distraught in a matter of seconds.

"Don't be silly, Kaoru," I argued, narrowing my eyes at the chuckling brothers. They dismissed me with a one shouldered shrug and laughing harder.

"Aw, it's okay, Haru-chan!" Honey reassured me after he'd gotten his giggling under control. He produced a large pearly smile as he gave me a quick hug. "I'm sure you and Kyo-chan would make a great couple!"

"Honey-sempai! Don't say things like that! Mommy's and daughters can't date!" Tamaki cried, distraught to the point that he looked as though he could faint at any moment. Mori shifted behind him just in case he had to catch the host club king before he hit the ground. In the meantime, I was both shocked and embarrassed enough at my sempai's words. They had to be crazy if they thought that Kyoya and I could be a couple. Not that the thought was entirely unpleasant come to think of it, but I wasn't girlfriend material for any of the elite and excessively wealthy hosts. I was just a commoner to them after all and I was reminded of that fact often enough. This didn't stop my face from turning a bright red as the thought of Kyoya and I together floated through my head.

"Aw, see! Haru-chan does like Kyo-chan. That's nothing to be embarrassed about!" He assured me from his new position on my lap.

Kyoya cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to him in an instant. Unlike myself, he had managed to continue looking calm and contained throughout the ordeal. "If you don't mind, I do believe that any relationship of either myself or Haruhi would be any of your business."

I tried to catch his eyes as he spoke, but he opted to keeping them closed. I wasn't sure what he was achieving by riling the hosts up, but I could tell that our reactions were amusing to him by the slight twitch in his cheek.

"So you don't deny it!?" Tamaki shouted, pointing a shaking finger at his best friend. He looked ready to cry.

The raven haired boy had hardly even blinked before he replied, "No."

"Kyoya-sempai!" I cried and elbowed him in the side. Wincing, he slung an arm over my shoulders and pulled me up against his side. The shock rendered me incapable of being able to pull away and I hardly noticed the surprised expressions sitting in front of us. That is until I heard a rather loud thump that turned out to be Tamaki finally fainting. Mori had missed his chance to save him and had joined the other hosts in their gaping.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Another new chapter for you all, my sweets! Thank you for all the lovely reviews and I'm sorry for you cliffhanger ;3

Enjoy~

* * *

Awkward silence filled the room.

"Kyoya-sempai, could I speak to you for a moment?" I stood up abruptly, trying to keep my calm. When he didn't immediately get up to follow me out the door, I stopped to add, "In private?"

"Of course, Haruhi. Excuse us a moment," he smiled politely at the hosts and swiftly exited the room behind me. I slammed the door shut although I knew Tamaki and the twins would have their ears held tight against the door in an attempt to hear our every word.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I hissed, keeping my voice low. The only conclusion I could come to in my mind was that he'd gone crazy in his sleep deprived state or some kind of alien had been sent down to take Kyoya's place and report back to the mother ship. Either way, it wasn't fair for him to play a trick like this on me.

He didn't look phased though faced with my rage and leaned back against the wall beside the door. "Keeping things interesting is all."

"And this is what you class as interesting? You could have let me in on this little plan of yours, sempai!" I was fuming. If it were possible for steam to start pouring out of my ears then I would be well passed that stage already. But it rapidly faded into desperation. I should have been used to stunts like this from the hosts by now but I hadn't been expecting anything of the sort from Kyoya.

"I would have, but it was rather spur of the moment," he chuckled, then his glasses flashed as he tilted his head down towards the floor. "And besides, even if I had told you about it you wouldn't have agreed to it, now would you?"

"Yes I would have!" I blurted out, the anger briefly returning. Then I realised what I had just admitted. "I mean, no, but I would have at least thought about it!"

One thin black eyebrow raised, he looked something close to surprised but he masked it quickly. "Oh, so now you want to date me?"

"Ye- maybe- I don't know!" I was flustered. The embarrassment of these continual slips was building up inside me minute by minute and I felt like running off and moping in a corner, much like Tamaki would. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?

Whilst in the contained whirlwind of my inner confusion, Kyoya had shifted closer to me unnoticed. And before I even knew what was happening, one firm hand had slid to the side of my neck and threaded the fingers into my short hair whilst the other snaked its way around my waist. Then warm lips briefly met my own, although it felt like an eternity. I wasn't sure what to focus on: the shock and puzzlement, the warmth that suddenly shot through me or how his lips moved against my own. Before I could fully comprehend it, the kiss was over and he was pulling away from me.

"We-" I cut him off before my mind decided to start working again and talk me out of it. Grabbing him by the collar, I pulled him back down to kiss him again. This time it was as though electric shot through me and left me tingling all over. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me flush against him. I almost forgot that we were out in the open of the corridor and that our best friends were sitting on the other side of the door that I was now pushed up against. Wait, the host club. I broke the kiss with wide eyes and pushed Kyoya back a couple of inches so I could gesture wildly at the door. He took a moment to understand what I was referring to but he caught on quickly enough. A minute of smoothing down clothing and combing fingers through hair we prepared ourselves to face the hosts again.

I avoided meeting Kyoya's eye as we went to open the door, which of course knocked the three nosiest hosts flat on their asses as we made our entrance. They all chuckled nervously as they stared up at us

"What do you think you're doing?" Kyoya asked, glasses flashing.

"Nothing!" They called out in unison, scrambling to their feet and trying to look inconspicuous. Honey bounded over to me and leapt up for a hug, spinning me on the spot with a loud fit of giggles. As I dropped him back down onto the ground, he winked at me knowingly which just left me suspicious. I still forget that he isn't an elementary student sometimes.

"Haruhi… is it true? It's okay, you can tell Daddy…" Tamaki whimpered, tugging gently on my sleeve. Our eyes met and his amethyst orbs were full of confusion and hope that his best friend was just pulling a joke on them.

"I – uh…" I met Kyoya's eyes from across the room where he was being harassed by the twins. He winked at me then went back to focussing fully on ignoring the redheads. Then I looked to Tamaki who was begging me to answer the way he wanted. "Sorry, sempai, but it's true."

Tamaki stood, brushing a stray tear from his eye. Then all of a sudden he smiled at me with pure sincerity that always reminded me how good a person our host club king truly was under all the ego and childishness. "Well then, I wish you both all the happiness in the world."

Then he rounded on Kyoya with determination burning in his eyes. "And you better treat my daughter with total respect! Daddy expects his little girl to be treated like the princess that she is, do you hear me?!"

"Yes, I hear you. I think the whole building heard you," Kyoya smiled.

* * *

When I eventually crawled into bed that night, I finally had time to think through everything that had transpired today. I had a boyfriend. Me. A boyfriend. This better not interrupt my studies. Or how the others treat me in the host club. Thankfully posing as a boy meant that I wouldn't have to explain it to anyone else in the school just yet. Wait, that meant our relationship would basically be a secret. I wasn't sure how I felt about that but it could be dealt with at a later time. Right now I needed to sleep and all this thinking was giving me a headache. I fell asleep that night with a gentle smile gracing my features and went back to dreaming about Ootoro and pastries.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Another chapter already?! Don't you all feel special now? Keep the lovely reviews coming, my little ducklings. I have a vague idea of what I'm going to do with this story now; I just need to think of an ending! So, I hope you all enjoy~

* * *

I spent the morning avoiding my dad. It's as if he has sensors in his head that just tell him that there is something going on, '_a daddy's instinct' _he calls it.

"Oh sweetie, what is it? You can tell me!" he crooned, spinning in circles around me and the dining table. I couldn't bring myself to watch him for too long or I would start to get dizzy.

Deadpan, I took another bite out of the apple I was munching on for breakfast. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you lie to Daddy!" he scolded, waving one perfectly manicured finger in my face with the sternest expression he could muster. "I can tell just from the look on your face. Those are love struck eyes, believe you me!"

I watched as he began to drift off into some kind of daydream and I thought he may have finally ended his endless onslaught of questions. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Who is it!? Please tell Daddy, Haruhi," my Dad begged, snapping back to reality and dropping down to my eyelevel. Then a lightbulb went off and he began rampaging about the room, pacing the short length of our apartment and around the table. "It's not that blonde buffoon is it!? I will not have him tainting my perfect little girl!"

"No Dad, it's not Tamaki-sempai," I insisted, successfully tossing the core of my apple into the bin.

He quit his stamping and bustled over to me, eyes wide with glee. "So there is someone! I knew it!"

"Dad!" I yelled when he glomped onto me with a vice like grip. Fortunately I wormed my way out of the choking embrace rather quickly and made a beeline for my school bag and escaped out the door, leaving my Dad singing joyfully in the kitchen.

Classes went by rather quickly despite whispered questions being tossed at me from either side as the Hitachiin brothers decided to get nosy. I tried my best to ignore most of them as they shuffled closer and closer to my seat in order to breathe their words right into my ears.

"How long, Haruhi?"

"Why the Shadow King?"

"It's not to repay your debt, right?"

"What's the answer to question four? I hate English class."

"Does your Dad know?"

"Have you sealed the deal yet, huuuuh?"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner!?"

"Does he call you by some weird petname?"

"Are you in _loooooooove_?"

I really wish I wasn't taking a sip of water whilst Kaoru whispered that into my ear. Instantly I began to choke as a squeal tried to make its way out of my lips but I ended up just spraying water all over my notebook. Both redheads found the situation hilarious as I tried to explain the interruption to our rather strict English teacher and only narrowly avoided punishment. I resorted back to ignoring them after that.

Then it was hosting hours. I managed to run late for starting designations again after studying in the library although I didn't bother to run like I usually would. I couldn't take any more of the twins questioning and I knew that Tamaki would probably only encourage them to go even further. So that is why I took a detour down by the cafeteria and the arts wing corridors instead of cutting across the courtyard like I normally would after using the third floor libraries.

"You're late," is the first thing I heard as I swung open the doors. All of the hosts were busy with their ladies already, leaving Kyoya to his usual financial planning.

"Sorry, sempai. I got caught up in studying again," I explained, completely unsure of how to act now. A small part of me wanted to give him a hug or at least something, but I refrained.

"That's quite alright," he smiled and went back to the spread sheets and databases.

I blinked. That just felt odd to me, I got off the hook just like that. No increasing of the debt. No steely glare. As the initial weirdness wore off, I decided that I could get used to that. Dropping my bag off in the kitchen area, I set to work of providing tea for each of the lovely ladies of the day and attended to my own small group of girls that were anxiously waiting around our usual table. Their faces lit up as I walked over with the tea tray and they accepted my apologies with no bother.

"We knew you'd show up, Haruhi-kun," one of my regulars, Aya, said. Like most of my clients, she was very quiet, reserved and studious, and her small crush on me combined with my attention was enough to boost her confidence slightly. It was common for both mine, Mori's and Honey's client pool to overlap due to the type of girls we attracted.

The others in the group nodded joyfully. "You study so hard, it must be tough having to stay top of the class all of the time."

"You look so cute today, Haru-kun," another whispered nervously, cheeks dusted with pink.

I handled them with my 'natural' style and left from time to time to top up everyone's teacups and restock the platter of cakes in front of Honey and his guests. A buzz in my pocket caught my attention.

**_Kyoya Ootori (18:22) – _**_Dinner tomorrow night?_

He was looking over at me with a smirk. Why he couldn't just come over and ask me in person was beyond me but I responded in kind.

**_Haruhi Fujioka (18:23) – _**_Is this the dreaded Shadow King's way of asking me on an actual date?_

**_Kyoya Ootori (18:25) – _**_Depends if you say yes or no_

**_Haruhi Fujioka (18:27) – _**_You know I wouldn't turn down food_

**_Kyoya Ootori (18:28) – _**_Then it's a date_

I went back to my table slightly giddy. Acting like a typical school girl with a schoolyard crush was usually not my style but I couldn't help it as the first butterflies began to flutter in my stomach. But I savoured the feeling for a minute before pushing it all down and returning to my clients with a fresh pot of tea.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **I ended up writing three chapters in one day, but if I posted all of them in one go would just be ruining my fun! ;3 So here you go, my darlings!

Keep up those reviews! And thank you to all the favouriters and followers, you little rascals you! Enjoy~

* * *

My dad sat on my bed as I raked through my wardrobe. This was the first and only time I would ever curse my androgynous dress style. Knowing Kyoya, I would be expected to wear a dress wherever we went so here I was stressing over the small selection of frocks I owned and wishing I could overcome my stubborn pride and call the twins for help. They were set to inherit a fashion empire after all, I'm sure they could fix me up with something decent on my first proper date in a flash.

"I have never seen you worry about clothing before, what's wrong, sweetie?" Dad sat on the bed looking worried, slowly becoming buried under baggy shirts, sweatshirts and capri pants.

I paused in the assault on my clothes and peered over my shoulder at him. "Promise not to either freak out or laugh?"

"Hmmm… I'll even pinkie promise!" He plucked a sock from the top of his head and dropped it down onto the blanket then held out his pinkie finger for me to grasp. After fulfilling the pinkie promise ritual I took a seat next to him on top of a small pile of dark denim jeans.

"Right. Well, I have a date," I muttered, steeling myself for the inevitable glomping. His arms were around me in a second, swinging me from side to side like a rag doll until I felt dizzy. The squealing in my ear wasn't entirely pleasant either.

"My little girl has a date?!" He pulled away and held me at arm's length with a huge silly grin on his face then returned to crushing me against his chest.

"Yes Dad, now you said you wouldn't freak out!" My attempts to break free were futile so I waited out the storm until he calmed enough to let go and squeal into his hands instead.

"With who?! With who?!"

I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell him now but lying to him wasn't an option. "Kyoya-sempai."

"Oh, I'm so proud! He's quite the catch! So handsome and a real brainbox! Much better than that blonde one," he lectured, narrowing his eyes at me at the mention of Tamaki which had me rolling my eyes. This was going pretty much as I had expected it to and I really had to get back to picking something to wear before dinner which wasn't far off now.

"Tamaki-sempai is smart in his own way, Dad," I mumbled as I held a dress up against myself and inspected the look in the mirror. Looking at my reflection just made me want to go back to some comfy jeans, t-shirt and trainers rather than dresses and kitten heels. I really didn't suit them as much as the twins made me to.

"Nothing compared to you or Kyoya though! You need someone that's on your intellectual level," Dad informed me as he silently critiqued the outfit in his head before tossing me a different dress to try.

I flung on the pale pink dress and smoothed it down as I assessed it's suitability in the mirror. It would just have to do. Looked like I was going to have to go through one of the Hitachiin family makeover days and get some new dresses if I was going to date now.

"You look beautiful, Haruhi! Daddy didn't realise you had so few dresses though! We'll have to fix that," he began pondering about boutiques and fabrics while I slipped on some white strappy kitten heels that Hikaru and Kaoru's mother gave me last time I visited. I wobbled for the first few steps but I adapted to the footwear with several laps around the house.

The doorbell went at exactly seven o'clock. Punctual as always, I guess. My Dad scrambled to open the door and greet his favourite host with gusto. Kyoya handled the attention with grace, practise from dealing with Tamaki and hordes of screaming ladies on a daily basis.

The butterflies I felt yesterday returned with a vengeance, especially when I noticed his eyes roaming up and down my choice of attire with a look of acceptance. It made the mad dig through the depths of my wardrobe worth the while.

"Out you go now, Haruhi. Have fun you two! Don't be coming home too late!" My Dad called as he shoved us out the door and tossed my clutch bag over to me. We blinked at the door then turned to each other and brushed off my Dad's enthusiastic way of kicking us out.

The limousine was waiting down on the street, the chauffeur already holding the door open for us. We climbed in and got comfortable before I started to feel awkward. What was I supposed to do? My mind just seemed to go blank of things to say yet was running a mile a minute at the same time. It was the feel of an arm slinging itself around my shoulders and pulling me into the side of a solid chest that I began to calm down again.

"You look beautiful by the way," he whispered into my hair as he laid a kiss on the top of my head. From there everything calmed and started to feel natural. We chatted as the limousine drove through Tokyo towards whatever mystery destination.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going then or not?" I asked as I nuzzled against his side.

He chuckled, "Don't you like the occasional surprise?"

"I take that as a no then," pushing away from him I looked him straight in the eye with an attempt of an intimidating glare "Not even a hint as to what cuisine?"

"Ah, ah, ah. Be patient," he told hold of my chin and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips then grinned.

We drove past what felt like a thousand restaurants as I tried to deduce which would be the most likely option for Kyoya to have picked. He looked thoroughly pleased each time I slumped in the seat from having guessed wrong and gave my shoulder a little squeeze in encouragement. Eventually we pulled into a large gated park. Kyoya took hold of my hand and began to lead me down the pathway that was shadowed by thick branches of overhanging trees. Small hanging lanterns cast faint orange light on the pale brick road beneath us. It was certainly the most romantic setting that I could have thought of and it definitely wasn't something I had expected from Kyoya of all people.

At the end of the pathway was a small lake with a cosy looking but very decent sized log cabin overlooking the water and surrounded by flowers. He held open the door for me as I peered in to see more lanterns dangling from the rafters of the cabin drowning us in the flickering orange light. There were several other couples seated already, each caught up in their own little worlds to notice anyone else joining them. Kyoya spoke to a waiter who led us to the table right beside the floor length windows giving us a perfect view of the lake as ducks floated past without a care in the world.

"I take it that this was definitely a surprise then," he pulled out my seat for me before sitting himself across from me. A small candle was lit in the centre of the table, the flame dancing sensually in contrast to the growing darkness outside the window.

I slipped my fingers in between his and let my thumb rub gentle circles into his hand. "Not even in my imagination, could I have dreamt this up."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **I'm glad you all liked the last chapter! The reviews made me smile~ I finished my assessments a bit quicker than I'd expected so I'll dedicate the rest of my last day of freedom writing :3 I was going to make this a longer chapter, hmmm, oh well, this will do for now!

So enjoy, my little munchkins~

* * *

Dinner was unbelievable. I needed to come to fancy restaurants more often. We watched as the sun slowly sunk below the horizon and left the sky stained in reds and oranges that reflected onto the still water of the lake.

"You really do pull out all the stops, don't you Kyoya-sempai?" I asked as we shared a small selection of homemade chilli dusted chocolates for dessert. It was the only dish that didn't look too sweet and I was very aware of Kyoya's distaste for sweets.

"Haruhi, you're aware that you can drop the honorifics now, no?" He reached across and popped a chocolate into my mouth then doing the same for himself. I savoured the bitter flavour as I chewed, taking my time before answering him.

"Oh, force of habit I guess. Fine… Do you always treat a girl like this on a first date, Kyoya?" I raised an eyebrow as I said his name informally for the first time. It was slightly odd, but I supposed that I could get used to it.

"I don't do dates very often, if you must know," he informed me.

I blinked. That couldn't be right. I'd seen tons of girls approach him before and most of them were flawless specimens of the human race. "A host that doesn't date much?"

"You're a host and you don't date very often," Kyoya laughed, crossing his arms in a defensive manner.

"All the boys at our school think I'm male as well, if you've forgotten," I reminded him. "And I've never been on a proper date before."

He narrowed his eyes and leant forward over the table towards me, curiosity shining in his features. "What about that day with Hikaru?"

"That was meant to be a date?" I blinked owlishly, my hand halted as it was just about to pop another chocolate into my mouth. Honestly, I had no clue. Wasn't it meant to just be a day out in town with Kaoru? How did that turn into an apparent obvious date with Hikaru? Thinking about it just made my head hurt.

"You really are clueless," he shook his head in disbelief, chuckling.

"I resent that," I knocked my foot against his under the table.

"But you are. You're an attractive young woman and you never realise the attention you're receiving or do an immaculate job of ignoring it." That made me blush. I had hardly ever heard him speak to anyone like this before. It would take a little getting used to seeing the usually icy Shadow King showing something close to a soft side.

"If you're referring to the way that Hikaru and Kaoru treat me, I'm not completely blind," I mumbled, slightly annoyed that he'd even infer that I could miss such blatant advances. The only reason I didn't respond to it was that I knew the twins were only joking and playing and looking for a reaction. If either of my best friends actually liked me, I think I'd notice.

"They are only one of many."

"Yeah, yeah. But what about you? Notorious Ootori boy: rich, smart, handsome. So why haven't you got a girlfriend already?"

"It's hard to catch my eye. There aren't many girls out there I would consider worth my time. The only times I have dated have been because I was ordered to."

"I can't imagine being ordered to date someone…"

"When you grow up with the knowledge that you may be married off at any moment for monetary gain, it seems normal," he said. I wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure me or trying to reassure himself. The waitress stopped by to pick up the now empty plate and drop off the bill for us, with complimentary coffees.

"Just do what makes you happy, Kyoya," I smiled at him, unsure of what I could say to him that would be useful at this point. He just smiled back and we enjoyed our coffees in companionable silence. It was dark now; a full moon was peeking out from behind the sparse clouds in the sky.

As we left, it was pitch black and the lanterns seemed to glow brighter than ever. He held my hand as we glanced over the lake once last time and headed back up the lit pathway to the main road. I was disappointed to be leaving; I would have happily sat in there until closing time and beyond enjoying the ambience and most of all the company. This had definitely gone better than I had expected it to.

He held open the limousine door for me and quickly crawled in after to escape the now chilly air. Goose bumps covered my arms as I tried to warm myself, wishing that I had brought a jacket along. Then I realised that I could take full advantage of being someone's girlfriend at that very moment. I snuggled into the side of Kyoya and he instantly went to put his arm around me, providing the much needed warmth. If I wasn't careful I'd end up falling asleep and I wasn't about to use his lap as a pillow again, once was embarrassing enough in my opinion.

"Thank you for the great night, Kyoya. It was lovely," I smiled up at him at we reached my door. Inviting him in was the first thing that came to mind, just for a cup of tea before we called it a night but it was getting rather late and we did have school in the morning. So I reached up and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek and then his lips.

"Thank you for saying yes. Goodnight, Haruhi." He bowed his head to me and I waved as I closed the door.

Now alone in the house, I slumped against the door and let a silly smile come to my face. If that's what dating is always going to be like, then I had definitely been missing out. Then I shook sense into myself. I had no time to be over-romanticising anything; study came first, romance second. At least I had the comfort of knowing he couldn't openly distract me at school without the whole school believing we were a gay couple right now.

I stepped out of shoes and rubbed at my slightly aching feet then slipped out of the dress and hung it back up in the wardrobe. Thankfully my Dad had taken the time to replace the scattered clothing from earlier before heading out to work for the night. I would have to thank him in the morning.

My phone buzzed just as I settled into bed. I pulled the blankets up around my shoulders to get cosy and held the phone close to my face so I could make out the fuzzy characters on the screen.

**_Kyoya Ootori (22:48) – _**_Sweet dreams x_

I went to sleep with a smile on my face that night and dreamt of red painted skies and hanging lanterns.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Hello my lovelies~ Soooo, I've had people wondering if I'm going to be evil and make Kyoya break her heart or such, well... you'll just have to wait and find out! But for now, I'm mixing things up, just to progress the story a little.

Enjoy a Tamaki point of view chapter!~

* * *

**Tamaki POV**

It was Thursday night and I was sitting glumly on the Hitachiin's luxurious bed, surrounded by cheesy comic books and random textbooks. Each time I picked up either though, the words wouldn't register properly in my mind and the pictures seemed to drain of their usual colour and magic. All I could do was stare at the ceiling and let my mind wander to places I'd rather it wouldn't go. Exams were coming up and apparently I was the perfect 'study buddy' for the Hitachiin twins tonight. Although I'm sure they either had ulterior motives or they just couldn't talk Haruhi into helping them. I could see them both out of my peripheral vision, situated on black and white leather lounge chairs, slumped over textbooks but neither were reading.

"What's wrong, boss?" Kaoru sang as he carefully took aim and proceeded to fling a pen across the room at his twin brother.

"Yeah, you were supposed to be helping us study," Hikaru groaned. He had been deep in concentration, colouring in a doodle of some misshapen animal on the side of his notebook when Kaoru's pen smacked him in the side of the head.

"Not mope about!" They both called out together. Four amber eyes were boring into me and there was no avoiding them.

"It's nothing…" I sighed, rolling onto my side and snatching up a textbook. Even if I wasn't going to read it, I could at least pretend to be doing something productive. Although when I focussed on the book I realised that it was upside down and in some obscure foreign language, possibly German or Dutch, I can't be sure. Smooth, Tamaki, smooth.

Two weights made their presence known on the supersized bed. I could feel them crawling closer and closer, prowling like cats about to pounce on their vulnerable prey, until they yelled right in my ear, "Out with it!"

They just stared at me. I stared back. They stared harder. Why did there have to be two of them? Two stubborn redheaded devils were more than I could handle. My fingers played with the quilt cover, tracing random shapes into the fabric whilst I tried to form my jumbled, nonsensical thoughts into words. "It's just, what did you think about Kyoya and Haruhi starting to date?"

"Huh?" Both mirrored the same puzzled expression and exasperation and embarrassment welled up inside me. I knew there was no point telling them, they didn't care.

"Did it make you feel like you were dying inside?" I asked hesitantly, clutching roughly at the blanket. My stomach knotted up while I waited for a reply.

"Boss…" Kaoru muttered sympathetically, eyeing his brother in the way that told me they were silently communicating. They almost seemed to be arguing purely through their facial expressions and it was captivating and confusing at the same time.

"I don't get it! A father should want the best for their daughter!" My pent up frustrations were let loose on the twins' pillows, squeezing it relentlessly until the anger ran its course, making me going limp and letting it fall off the side of the bed. "Which Kyoya is… So why do I feel like it's wrong?"

"Tamaki-sempai, you really don't know?" Hikaru grasped at my arm and pulled me around to face him fully. I could sense his impatience rolling off him in waves. His eyes searched my own; looking for an answer that I wasn't even sure was there.

"What do you mean?" I muttered, which only served to infuriate him further.

Hikaru pushed himself up into a kneeling position and glared down at me. Exasperation tainted his features. "That you're in lov-"

Kaoru leapt forward and clamped a hand across his brother's mouth and wrestled him down onto the bed forcefully. I watched in a dumbfound stupor. He didn't need to finish that sentence. I knew the words that were going to go tumbling out of his mouth and reach my ears. No, it's alright, I must have misheard him. Or he's gone crazy. Both were strong possibilities.

"Hikaru! Can it! He has to figure it out for himself," Kaoru hissed.

They fought for a minute until Hikaru found an opening and managed to wrench Kaoru's arm away from his face just enough to send a retort, "He'll be a pensioner before he realises it!"

"What aren't you telling me?!" My patience wears out and I launch myself at them, sending us tumbling into a heap of flailing limbs, random curses and shouts of surprise and anger.

"That you're in love with her!" Hikaru chokes out as I catch him in a headlock. His words make me freeze up and Kaoru pulls his brother to safety while I'm caught off guard. So I wasn't hearing wrong. He thinks I'm in love with her. I can't be. Daddy loves his princess. Wants to see her marry a strong, handsome man and live happily ever after. But… But- Oh.

"Now you've done it," Kaoru smacks his brother around the back of the head as they witness my expression flicker from one emotion to the next then go blank.

"I'm… in love with Haruhi?" I whisper breathlessly. It made sense, finally, as if the last piece of the intricate puzzle just slotted into place and I was looking upon the big picture for the first time. Normally I would curl up into a ball until the shock stopped overwhelming me, but it wasn't an option here, lying across my friends' bed.

"Duh!"

"That's ridiculous! I'm her father!" I don't need telling that I'm in denial. I know it. But not knowing was better.

"Hikaru, you've done enough now," Kaoru said softly, making his way off the bed and backing away awkwardly. His brother followed suit with a small amount of encouragement which left me sitting awkwardly arguing with myself inside my head. I had to get out.

My feet made it onto the floor and carried me out the door, my belongings left forgotten. They weren't important right now. I walked home, not even registering that I was really moving. The next thing I remember fully was lying in bed wondering why my best friend got the girl before me, I was meant to be the prince of the host club…


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Hello my little dumplings!~ Here is a lovely new chapter for you all. I know, I know, I felt bad for Tamaki last chapter too ;_; but back to Haruhi's point of view this time!

Now... Enjoy!~

* * *

**Haruhi POV**

When I came into the host club on Friday I was surprised to see that only Kyoya, Honey and Mori were there setting up for the imminent arrival of the ladies. Cakes were laid out accordingly and the newest addition to our teacup collections had been washed and put out at each table.

"Hey, Haru-chan!" Honey bounded over to me with Usa-chan in tow. "Do you wanna share a cake with me? Did you get much studying done?"

"Hey, Honey-sempai. Uh, no thanks, maybe later," I set down my heavy book bag and rubbed at my aching shoulder. "I think so. I'll get more done tonight. Where is everyone? It's not like Tamaki-sempai to be late."

"I dunno… Kyo-chan! Where has Tama-chan gone?" Honey called across the room to Kyoya who was already at work on his trusty laptop.

Kyoya paused and looked up for a minute to let his eyes take in a quick scan of the room before answering, "I believe he was going to see the Chairman about something. Although he said he would be back before hosting hours started."

"And the twins?" I asked.

He stared blankly at me, clearly stating with his face that he had no clue. "They're in your class. I was hoping you would know."

"They were quiet today… Maybe they went home ill or something," I tapped my chin as I thought over the classes of the day. For once I didn't have constant chatter and questions, botched attempts to draw on me, my notebooks and textbooks, and the random touches that were meant to make me uncomfortable. If they weren't ill then they were planning something and a plotting Hitachiin was never a good thing.

"Ah," Mori caught our attention, pointing towards the door.

"Kao-chan!" Honey sang, before greeting him in the same manner he did for me. Hikaru was nowhere in sight. I was confused. It wasn't like the Hitachiin twins to be separate, especially in school. Something was up and I wanted to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible.

"Hey guys," Kaoru smiled at us although it looked strained, false even. The redhead quickly made his way to the table he usually shared with his doppelganger and stored his bag away under the table. I wandered over and took the seat beside him while Honey occupied the one opposite us.

"Where's Hika-chan?" Honey asked softly, head tilted to the side and eyes wide.

"Uh, he said something about asking Tamaki-sempai something and that he'd be right back. But he never showed," Kaoru drooped in his seat, resting his chin lazily on an open palm. I'd never seen him looking so melancholy.

"Kyoya said that Tamaki-sempai was away talking to his Dad. Maybe he's still looking for him," I said trying to reassure him with a smile.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Kaoru smiled back at me weakly but seemed to visibly relax a bit. We had time to share a cake between the three of us, which meant Kaoru and I got a strawberry each and left the rest to the ever ravenous Honey, before the ladies began to pour into the room with fervour.

Tamaki never showed. Neither did Hikaru. The ladies were distressed over losing out on their special time with the princely type. I took pity and tried to help pick up the slack with Kaoru since he seemed lost without his partner in crime. It was odd, Tamaki had never let his princesses down before but I put it down to his father holding him up or sending him out on some kind of business. Kyoya even participated partially in hosting activities today so we wouldn't lose out on too much profit and the girls swarmed to him, making most of the rare opportunity of seeing the cool type in action for once.

By the end of hosting hours, I was exhausted. The twins' clients required much more energy to entertain than my usual designations. Slowly but surely all of the girls filed out of music room #3 and left us with a bit of peace and quiet. Kyoya walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and I leant back into the strong embrace. The brief contact was much appreciated just to help me forget about the stress of the last couple of hours.

"Have you heard from Tamaki-sempai yet?" I asked, my tone hushed.

"Not a word. Hikaru?" he whispered back, nuzzling into the side of my neck with his nose.

"Nothing. Kaoru looks upset and I don't think it's just about Hikaru not showing up today," I replied, resting my eyes on the lone Hitachiin twin.

"Hm…" Kyoya seemed to contemplate for a moment. He planted a kiss on my temple before letting go and began to help Honey and Mori finish the cleaning of the music room. I returned to Kaoru's table and gave his arm a small squeeze.

"Ready to go?" he nodded. "Want me to come and study with you tonight?"

He considered it for a minute but shook his head, "not tonight. I need to go see Tamaki-sempai. I'll call you tomorrow though?"

"Sure, I can do tomorrow. Why do you need to see Tamaki-sempai?" I tilted my head to the side, curiosity piqued.

"Well… Hikaru may have done something rash and stupid," he said quietly, suddenly finding his feet rather interesting.

My hand reached out and took hold of Kaoru's, which made him look up in surprise. "What is it?"

"It's… Nothing, doesn't matter. I'll see you tomorrow," he pulled me in for a hug that lasted a moment too long before rushing out of the room. I was left staring after him, concerned now for both brothers. It sounded like Hikaru had pushed the boundaries a little too far this time and upset Tamaki somehow. But I let the worry drain away, thinking that Tamaki was too much of a forgiving person for this to be a problem for long. It would all be fine by the time we were back in school on Monday.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Me again, my little pumpkins! I'm glad people are enjoying the story so far! Bet you're wondering where Tamaki and Hikaru got to last chapter, so this will fill you in~

Enjoy!

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**Hikaru POV**

**_Tamaki Suou (15:35) – _**_My house, ASAP, don't bring Kaoru._

When I'd received that text I knew that this night was going to become stressful. We had only just gotten out of class and Haruhi had run off to the library to cram in a bit of studying before hosting began, so we were loitering about the corridors trying to kill time. I assumed by the text that Tamaki wasn't going to the host club, so it was either cancelled or I had just been given permission to bunk off for a day. So I left Kaoru standing outside our classroom, letting him think I'd be right back. In hindsight that was probably a stupid idea but it was the first excuse that came to mind.

We were in one of the studies in Suou's second mansion and Tamaki was just sitting there focussing intensely on the wall with no explanation as to why he had asked for my attendance. I watched him for a while until my interest began to wane, "Tono, what are you doing?"

"Shhh! I'm trying to think!" He held up a hand and furrowed his brows. I could almost see the exhausted hamster running furiously on the little wheel inside his head.

I lounged back on the armchair and laughed dryly, "Don't try too hard, you might hurt yourself."

"Very funny, Hikaru," he shot me a glare but the irritation faded quickly from his face. He looked a mess, no wonder he skipped out on host club tonight.

"Seriously, boss. Why did you want me here? Kaoru's gonna be mad at me for standing him up. And I don't wanna know what Kyoya-sempai's gonna do when he finds out we skipped hosting hours," I shivered as I realised that I was probably in for some punishment next time I went to club. Probably stuck with cleaning for a week or, if Kyoya was in an especially bad mood, for a month.

"Kaoru will get over it. And Kyoya can't do anything to us, he's harmless really," Tamaki waved a hand at me dismissively.

"Like I believe that," I muttered. Then silence fell upon us. It was uncomfortable and I could sense that he wanted to speak but wasn't able to find the right words for the purpose. Eventually he met my eye and the stare off began. He lasted much longer than usual, but as always he was the first to look away, focussing on one of the books laid out on the hardwood desk.

"Hikaru… I can't go back in there," he whispered. The words were so soft that I almost couldn't make them out but I knew I hadn't misheard. Our King wanted to give up his throne.

"Huh?" I pushed myself out of the armchair and made my way across the room. Tamaki watched cautiously as I moved closer and sat on the edge of the desk.

"You said it yourself, I'm in love with Haruhi," his voice cracked as he spoke. "But I don't think I'm the only one. I'm too late."

"Kyoya-sempai isn't in love with her. He's a robot. Besides, his father would never approve of him dating anyone from a commoner background, regardless of the fact that she got into Ouran," I argued fruitlessly. Honestly I didn't believe all of the words that came out my mouth but if they cheered Tamaki up then that didn't matter.

His eyes were disbelieving but his voice was stronger as he spoke, "He's can be cold but that doesn't make him heartless. Can't you remember when you and Kaoru gave every single person that approached you the cold shoulder? Now look at you."

I crossed my arms tightly across my chest and looked away. He was right, but that didn't mean he had to use it as leverage here. All I was trying to do was cheer the guy up. "Whatever, boss. Look, you're being ridiculous. You and Kyoya-sempai founded the host club, you can't quit it just like that. We're a family."

"Are we though? Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai will be leaving at the end of the semester. Haruhi will have to come out as a girl sooner or later and her debt is almost paid off, then she can do what she likes," Tamaki whispered tearfully, clutching tightly at his knees. "That leaves us with four hosts in total and that isn't enough for the club to stay running. Eventually we have to let our children grow up and move on."

"Sempai…" The emotion radiating off of him was immense and I wasn't sure how to handle it. It was frustrating and pitiful at the same time but I had to try and be patient. My hands gripped the edge of the desk with more force as I sat and waited for him to compose himself slightly.

"Aren't I right?" he asked with hopeful eyes.

That was enough to make me snap. I pushed away from the desk and grabbed him by the shoulders forcefully. Our eyes locked, mine in a blaze of fire and his as icy and dim as I'd ever seen them. "…I don't want it to end. You're overreacting!"

"Well what else am I supposed to do!?" He yelled, shoving me away. We both stood in the centre of the room, clenching and unclenching our fists even though we knew we weren't going to fight, not over this.

"Talk to her! Talk to him! Kyoya-sempai is your best friend, he'll understand!" I waved my arms about as I shouted. We had attracted the attention of some of the house staff who were trying to slyly peek through the doorway and observe.

Tamaki deflated and dropped to his knees before me. I instantly went down to his level and watched as a tear made its way down his cheek. "Best friends don't steal the girl you love."

"You're not the only one that loves her, sempai," I draped an arm around his shoulder as he tried to keep his sobs under control. "We all do, you're just the one we thought would make it work with her. Her prince charming."

He looked up in confusion and searched my face for any trace of a lie, "Hikaru?"

My eyes sought out the floor and my stomach knotted up as I let the words leave my lips, "Kaoru loves her, I know it even if he doesn't say it out loud, but he hasn't done anything about it because he wants me to have a chance. Reading his diary really wasn't as smart an idea as I'd thought it would be…"

He tilted my head up and his determined eyes met my own. It was as though I fed off the renewed fire within the host club king and it was the only thing that stopped me from shedding a tear then and there. "Are you saying I should do the same?"

"I'm saying you have to decide. You either let her go or fight. So what's it gonna be, boss?" We sat there in silence. Both of us were in deep thought. It was the best advice I could give him but it was potentially throwing a spanner into the works of the host club. Even ruining the perfectly good friendships between some of the most influential business heirs in Tokyo. Oh god, why didn't I bring Kaoru? He always knows what to do.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Hello, my little sugarplums! Here I am gracing you all with another delightful chapter from yours truly. I'm hoping to get another chapter done today too, while I get my hair done~ I apologize for the all the feels in the last couple of chapters.

So for now, enjoy!~

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**Kyoya POV**

"You better have a damn good reason for waking me up," I grumbled. It was nine am on a Saturday morning and had been awoken by Tamaki a couple of hours prior asking for my help. If it weren't for his odd behaviour the day before I wouldn't have dragged myself over to the Suou estate at this ungodly hour. We sat opposite each other, arms crossed and lounging back in the stiff dining chairs.

"Don't I always?" he chuckled, leaning forward.

"That's debatable," I replied dryly. I didn't come here to play games today.

He looked down at the table between us, pulling and smoothing out the table cloth as he spoke, "As my best friend… you know I love you, right Kyoya?"

"Quit the sappy talk, Tamaki. If there's something bothering you then spit it out already. I won't have stalling," I deadpanned, staring him down in hope that he'd take this seriously.

He straightened in his seat and looked me in the eye. His poker face was in place and I couldn't tell what was going to come gurgling out of his mouth next. "Alright then. If you want to talk business then we'll talk business. What are your intentions with Haruhi?"

I blinked and felt myself relax somewhat from the stiff business mode I had been in before. I should have expected this to be the root of the problem. "This is what you wanted to talk about? I see. My intentions are pure, I assure you."

"And you're aware that you aren't the only one with eyes on her, correct?" He closed his eyes and laced his fingers together under his chin. I didn't like where this was going.

"That's right," I leant forward. My curiosity was piqued but I tried to remain looking nonchalant.

"It's always good to have some healthy competition, I suppose. But let's say the other competitors wanted to make their move, change the rules," he mused, tracing his fingers over the patterns on the table cloth. I felt myself tensing up. This wasn't what I had expected from Tamaki, he was acting as though this was all a game to him. It had a hint of the Hitachiin twins' influence in there but I didn't let my mind ponder on that for too long, I could ask Honey or Haruhi to interrogate them later on my behalf.

"Go on," I muttered.

Tamaki straightened up again and began inspecting his finger nails casually, "Long story short: I want her and I plan to fight for her. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has decided to do so."

Fury built up inside me, making my blood boil and cracking the icy exterior I wore on a daily basis. I wasn't fond of having my girlfriend considered fair game, however possessive that may sound. I narrowed my eyes and tried to silently calm myself before replying to the eagerly waiting blonde, "She isn't a toy to be passed around, Tamaki, she's a person."

He laughed and a smile finally graced his lips again, but a certain amount of malice tainted his usually naïve eyes, "That's rich coming from you. You remember how we became friends."

"Yes, I remember," I sighed. "I also know how that experience has changed me, even if I don't like to openly admit it."

Tamaki relaxed again and rested his elbows on the table, smiling fondly at me. "I only told you as a courtesy, you're still my best friend."

"Then I'm grateful," I smiled back, hiding the discomfort.

"Good. Coffee?" He stood and began wandering towards the hallway. I watched as he swung around in the doorway and peered back cheerfully awaiting an answer.

I nodded, chuckling. "About time you offered."

* * *

**Haruhi POV**

Kaoru and I were sat in one of the libraries in their mansion of a home, browsing textbooks that now lay scattered across the dark wood floor. "So what are we studying today?"

"Math? English? German? Physics? History? I need to study them all," he admitted, tossing several books in my direction to be added to our to-read pile. We were going to be here forever at this rate.

"You know, if you kept up with studying out with exam periods then this wouldn't be as stressful, right?" I asked looking at the range of books on the shelf from over his shoulder.

He gave me a disbelieving look and tapped me on the head with another book he'd selected, "Studying's overrated."

"You can't always get by in life solely on good looks, Kaoru," I groaned, snatching away the book and adding it to the history category.

"Is that you saying I'm handsome? I'm flattered," he sniggered, joining me on the floor to overlook the sea of books before us. A sharp elbow to the side silenced his laughter. I checked my watch; it had taken us half an hour just to pick out our study resources let alone get anything productive done.

"Where's Hikaru gotten to?" I asked as we tried to settle into comfortable positions. Kaoru threw me some pillows to rest on; they were plush and embroidered with a gorgeous array of black and blue beads that formed an abstract pattern.

"He'll be back, just gone to the kitchens," he assured me whilst propping a cushion up against my crossed legs and resting his head.

"Did you figure out what happened yesterday?" I asked softly.

He looked up in surprise but masked it quickly by focussing on the book in his hands."Hm? Oh, yeah. It was nothing, all sorted I think."

I was about to question him further when I felt a vibration in my pocket. Kaoru must have felt it too because he tried to sneak the phone out of my pocket a second later. A swift pull of the hair and his slender fingers dropped the device onto floor where I scooped it up and began to read.

**_Kyoya Ootori (10:21) – _**_Would you mind asking Hikaru and Kaoru what they've been saying to Tamaki? x_

"Uh, Kaoru?"

He was still rubbing the sore spot on his head where I just attacked his poor delicate hair. "What's up?"

"Kyoya's asked me if you or Hikaru had said something to Tamaki. Any clue what's he referring to?"

His eyes flickered between me and the book hesitantly before he settled back against the pillows with a murmured, "Nope. No idea."

"Kaoru…" I warned, towering over him menacingly, well as menacingly as I could be as a petite girl.

He waved his hands defensively in front of his face, "I - I tried to stop him. I swear!"

"What was it?" Grasping at his hands, I held them tightly and tried to pry them away from his face. We stared at each other blankly for a minute before he looked away awkwardly.

"Something that should really have been left unsaid," he whispered.

I let go of him and allowed him to roll over and view me from the right way up. Sighing, I rubbed at the bridge of my nose, "That doesn't help me. Would you prefer Kyoya question you?"

"Not particularly," he griped, hiding his face against the cushion.

Hikaru finally made his appearance at that moment, saving his brother from further questioning for the time being. The other redhead joined us gleefully with a tray laden with pastries and doughnuts. He planted another pillow against my other leg and mirrored his brother's resting position, mouth half stuffed with cake, "What are you two talking about?"

"History," we said in unison, both of our eyes conveniently landing on the same book not far from our reach.

"Pfft, boring," Hikaru declared, examining the book halfheartedly and tossing the book over his shoulder. "Let's study something that's actually interesting."

"Such as?" I raised an eyebrow.

Hikaru sniggered and stuffed part of a croissant into my open mouth. Both brothers laughed heartily as I munched on the delicacy slowly, eyes narrowed at them dangerously. Then he held up the plate proudly and said, "Breakfast, duh!"


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Ahaaa! Told you I'd get another chapter done today~ Now, my little cherubs, we're back to the normal Haruhi point of view for this chapter. And to those who asked, yes this is based off the anime version! I've read the manga but I must have watched the anime at least three or four times before I did~

For now, enjoy~

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The weekend went by in a blur of textbooks, endless pages of notes and very little sleep. I ended up staying at the Hitachiin's for the whole weekend and found myself trudging home rather late on Sunday night to an empty house. The silence was welcomed however after hours of question and answer sessions on history, math and countless other subjects. Exhaustion was an understatement. I dropped onto my bed without bothering to change into pyjamas and I was out before my head hit the pillow.

Monday came and I woke up refreshed and ready for the exams. My brain was bursting with knowledge and scribbling it all down onto paper was almost therapeutic. The twins didn't seem to be having much difficulty either after all the help I'd given them, only spending a minimal amount of time doodling or chewing on their pens.

"Well that wasn't so bad," Kaoru yawned as we left the first years' exam hall. It was late afternoon but host club still didn't start for another twenty minutes or so.

"Tell me about it! No resits this semester! We should celebrate," Hikaru pumped his fist into the air with vigour, smiling broadly.

"Shouldn't we wait until we get the results to celebrate?" I asked hesitantly, stroking my chin. I was tired now and my hand was aching from all the writing.

Kaoru looked over his shoulder at me as we walked through the arts wing, "Why bother? You're gonna be top of the class, we're just happy to have a passing mark."

"And we will have, thanks to you," Hikaru laughed, hooking an arm around my shoulders and giving me a squeeze. His brother followed suit. I smiled up at them crookedly and we continued to make our way down the corridor, Hikaru around my shoulders and Kaoru around my waist.

"We should go away for the weekend!" Hikaru suggested cheerfully, pulling us to a halt. Both redheads looked overjoyed at the prospect and immediately put their thinking caps on.

"I suppose that could be fun. But I'd need to ask my dad first," I muttered. Numbers floated about in my mind, calculating how much money I had saved and if a holiday was even feasible. Especially one that would live up to the host club's calibre. It might just have to be added to my debt, if I played my cards right with Tamaki and Kyoya.

"Out of the country isn't an option, unless Haruhi's suddenly gotten herself a passport," Hikaru sighed, daydreaming of pale sandy tropics and towering palm trees.

"Why not hit the beach again?" Kaoru asked, amber eyes judging our reactions.

"In April? Might be a bit cold," I pondered, tapping my chin as different destinations popped in and out of my head.

"Hiking?" Hikaru suggested hopefully.

A shudder shook my body between the twins and they sniggered, "That's not my idea of a holiday."

"Then what would be your highness?" They let go of me, bowing low in front of me mockingly. Four amber eyes looked up at me, amusement shining in their depths as they watched me contemplate. It was too cold for another beach trip and I couldn't think of any festivals off the top of my head. Was there anywhere that could keep all seven of us entertained and out of trouble?

"Somewhere quiet, out of town perhaps. I just want to relax," I summarised, stretching my sore limbs before we started walking again.

"We could go back to Karuizawa?" One of the brothers suggested they slid down the bannisters of the grand stair cases. The odd girl dawdled about the corridors waiting for hosting hours to begin, watching us with interest; whispered words and girly squeals following us.

There was no objection I could find with returning to Karuizawa again and the twins seemed to be in agreement already, "We all have holiday homes around there; we just have to pick which one to stay in."

"It's settled!" They called out, giving each other enthusiastic thumbs up and cheesy grins.

"So we'll invite the other hosts along?" Their keen attitudes and excited chatter had me smiling merrily as the optimism began to infect me. We reached the old music room #3 with little time to spare and slipped through the ornate wooden doors, escaping the views of the stalking ladies waiting anxiously on the other side.

They both wrapped arms around me and pulled themselves up close, noses tickling my ears. Their whispered words tickled and made me shiver, "Unless you want to spend another private weekend with us."

Hikaru laughed airily and let his nose brush some of the hair away from my ear, "But your boyfriend might not be happy about that!"

"Shut up, Hikaru," I deadpanned, brushing them off so I could drop off my belonging in the kitchen. Coffee and tea needed to be prepared, cakes needed to be selected and cut, and tablecloths laid out. Honey had already picked his favourite delicacies of the day and had them set out on the counter for serving. Ten minutes later I had everything ready and set out on the tables, with a few minutes to spare.

Tamaki and Kyoya were chatting over the laptop, presumably picking plausible themes for future events. Honey was talking animatedly to Mori about his university interviews whilst hugging Usa-chan to himself tightly. Everyone seemed upbeat and cheerful which was a big improvement from last week. I took a seat at my usual table, waiting for the girls to come bursting through the doors.

"Hello, Haruhi. How was your weekend?" I jumped at the sound of Tamaki leaning over my shoulder and talking into my ear. Shuffling to the side slightly, I escaped the airy voice and smiled up at him. He really did have to learn about personal space, but he wasn't the only one I thought glancing over at the Hitachiin brothers.

"Tiring, I guess. I stayed with the twins' all weekend studying. How about yours, sempai? We missed you on Friday."

He pulled up a seat beside me and leant towards me, resting his elbows on his knees and chin in his hands, "Sounds like fun. It wasn't too bad, I was kept busy enough. Then I apologise, my sweet."

Tamaki took one of my petite hands into both of his large ones and pressed his lips to my knuckles. It was a bit odd but I wrote it off as one of Tamaki's eccentricities. "Uh, okay. The ladies will be let in any second now, shouldn't you get ready?"

"I was wondering if I could work with you today, Haruhi," he suggested joyfully, letting my hand go and lounging casually over the side of his chair. I eyed him warily. Working with Tamaki would mean more ladies and a lot more effort to keep entertained. High maintenance was probably the best description for his customers.

"That should be alright. Nothing wrong with a bit of variety every now and then," I grinned. Just then Honey and Mori opened the doors and let the girls loose into their own personal playground that was the host club. We all smiled as brightly as we could as the ladies bustled to the tables of their choice. Some of my regular customers looked wary about mixing in with Tamaki's growing crowd but eventually wormed their way through the chattering girls to speak to me.

Our table was crowded all afternoon and I hardly had a single break. They questioned why we had teamed up and each time Tamaki would wrap an arm around me and say something along the lines of "we just make a great couple, don't we?" and then the girls would squeal, some even fainting, and start asking more risqué questions. Maybe a year ago this behaviour would make me uncomfortable but having the twins as my best friends had made me basically immune to these kinds of moves. I hadn't thought Tamaki would follow in their footsteps but saying as it was only a ruse to keep his many princesses coming back for more, I let it slip.

At the end of hosting, I was ready for bed. I slipped away from Tamaki and snuck up on Kyoya. Before I could get a couple of steps behind him, he tilted his head to the side and smirked at me, knowing he'd caught me. Huffily, I took the last couple of steps and pressed a kiss to his cheek. A slight blush stained his cheeks but it was hardly visible unless you were close up.

"Want to come over tonight? I could do with curling up with a movie," I suggested hopefully. It felt odd trying to adapt to a relationship and I wasn't sure what normal behaviour was for a couple yet, especially when one of them was used to all the luxuries life could provide.

"After those exams, that sounds perfect," his slim fingers tucked a strand of hair behind my ears before he gave me a chaste kiss. Then it was my turn to blush before walking away giddily, picking up plates and teacups as I went. It didn't take long until we were ready to leave, fingers weaving together as we made our way out of the now empty academy buildings. Although I was pleased to be heading home, I couldn't help but feel as though piercing eyes were boring into my back. Unbeknownst to us, a lone blonde haired boy lingered not far behind, watching us longingly.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **For the first time ever, I'm actually going to write ahead and not post the chapter straight away! _Dun Dun Dun. _Otherwise you'd all have about four chapter submitted in one day and that's just beyond spoiling you all! Thank you to everyone who's still reading, the new followers, reviewers and favouriters; I love you all~

Now, enjoy!~

* * *

The week was slow and dotted with the last of our final exams of the year. Thankfully Kyoya offered to help me study and each night we would snuggle up with a different textbook and work through the variety of exercises. They were the most relaxing study sessions I'd ever had and made the week much more bearable. The seven of us were all for another trip to Karuizawa. Mori drew the short straw, a commoner's activity Tamaki suggested we should try out, and it was settled that we would stay at his summer home for the weekend.

Friday came along and the hosting hours were filled with excitement. The twins bounced around and told stories to the ladies of past holidays we'd all shared, infecting the girls with the same giddy energy that had us all working with triple effort to keep them contented.

Getting the girls to leave was difficult; they lingered to soak up the last of the compliments we could dish out before the week ended and they were deprived of attention for the weekend. Two limousines were waiting outside, Kyoya's and Mori's I assumed by the staff, at the end of the day with our bags already safely stored inside.

Tachibana, Kyoya's bodyguard and chauffeur, bowed to me before opening the door and assisting me to clamber in. Kyoya and the twins followed shortly after, following a brief argument between Hikaru, Kaoru and Tamaki as to who would sit where. I took the space closest to the barrier separating us from the driver and leant down against Kyoya, resting my head in his lap. The twins snickered as his fingers reflexively started to thread themselves through their hair.

Thankfully I dozed for most of the journey and I woke up without any kind of permanent marker doodles on my face. Kaoru was napping using Hikaru's shoulder as a pillow and I caught random words each time I woke up. My dreams consisted of Honey dressed as a giant Usa-chan and Tamaki as a perverted old man, both of them rather amusing.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" Identical voices sang as I was shook awake. I glared blearily up at the four amused amber eyes.

"Please tell me we're there already, otherwise I might have to kill you guys," I grumbled. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, we all stretched and edged our way out the vehicle into the cold night air.

The building was quaint despite being huge. The staff came out to retrieve our luggage and ushered us into the house quiet efficiency, nothing less than I'd expect from the Morinozuka family.

An exceptionally tall woman bowed to me and helped me take off my jacket. She led me up a grand staircase to the first door and dropped a key into my hand, "This shall be your room for the duration of the stay. There is an on suite attached and the door on the left connects you to the next bedroom. Please enjoy your stay, Miss."

And with that she was gone again. The other hosts followed their own member of staff up the stairs to their rooms. Tamaki had the room connected to mine and Kyoya's room was opposite. It looked as though my room belonged to someone else when they stayed; the name "Yasuchika" and "Mitsukuni's an alien" (with the addition of a scratchy drawing of a UFO) carved into the desk confirmed that to me as Honey's younger brother's room. I browsed the small collection of karate trophies stashed on the shelves then set about changing out of my school uniform.

The door that connected me to the next room inched open suddenly, revealing Tamaki who was already in casual wear, "Haruhi, are you ready for dinner yet? I was thinking-"

The blonde boy froze, taking in my half-dressed body with wide eyes that slowly moved down my form. The words that I had meant to say were lodged in my throat for a minute, hoping he'd just back out and slam the door shut, but when he didn't I snatched the closest article of clothing to cover myself.

"Get out, sempai!" He suddenly moved, jolted out of the stupor and dashed back into his own room. That was awkward. I resumed dressing, a frilly white skirt and a pale pink shirt courtesy of my Dad's repacking, and then cautiously opened the door to check on Tamaki. His face was still stained red and wouldn't meet my eye.

"Sorry, Tamaki-sempai. You should have knocked," I said hesitantly, rubbing at the back of my head anxiously.

He gazed up and his expression softened, "That outfit is really cute on you."

"You think?" I looked down at the garments but I couldn't say they were anything special. "My Dad repacked my suitcase again, I should have expected it."

"Well you look stunning," he stood and walked over to me in the doorway. His eyes searched my face then tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Shall we go meet the other's for dinner?"

"Sure," I smiled, thinking of all the delightful dishes that could be served, it was making my mouth water uncontrollably and my stomach grumble.

The rest of the hosts were already sat at the long dining table with bowls of vegetable soup and a selection of breads. One of the butlers pulled out a seat for me, opposite Hikaru and in between Honey and Mori, before serving me an identical bowl. It was exquisite and disappeared in moments.

Kyoya leant over to me as we waited for the next course to be served up and whispered in my ear, "We need to talk, come to my room after dinner?"

Instantly a worried knot formed in my gut. A little bit of context to that statement wouldn't have gone a miss, but I nodded regardless. He searched out my hand and gave it a brief squeeze before lingering for a few seconds.

The next courses went by slowly. There was roasted venison followed by a choice of ice-creams, and cakes for Honey, but I found it hard to eat it all. My hunger from before had dissipated. Cheerful chatter filled the room but most of it went unheard by me. Honey babbled on about a lovely bakery that he hadn't gotten to visit the last time we came and Tamaki kept asking if I would teach him some 'commoner's meals' as a vacation activity. I just nodded my head and shoved another spoonful of strawberry ice-cream into my mouth.

It was late when we headed upstairs for the night. Everyone bid their goodnights with tired eyes and yawns. The drowsiness hadn't caught up with me yet, probably a mixture of anxiety and from the nap on the journey here. I waited until everyone was in their own room before creeping over and knocking on Kyoya's door.

He promptly let me in, locking the door behind us. We sat down awkwardly on his bed as I waited for him to come out with whatever he had to say. The same thoughts kept running through my mind. Why was I so bothered about this? We had barely even become established as a couple and I was already worrying about him changing his mind? This was ridiculous.

"Haruhi…" He began, but then shut his mouth again as the words escaped him. "There's something we really need to talk about and I don't want to wait too long before I do this and for anyone to get hurt."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **I apologise for the cliffhanger in the previous chapter, was feeling a bit evil ^_^

Enjoy!~

* * *

"It's alright, Kyoya, I understand," I murmured, already feeling the beginnings of tears prick at my eyes. My hands clenched in the fabric of the quilt cover and twisted at the expensive material and fancy embroidery.

He looked up in confusion, examining me with steely eyes, "Hmm?"

"If you don't want to be with me, you don't have to explain it," I managed a watery smile then looked away again, focussing on anything but him and the weight in my stomach.

Kyoya continued to watch me with narrowed eyes, "Haruhi? I don't think-"

"Maybe I should just go," My feet sought out the floor and I made it half way across the room before a hand took a firm grip on my wrist and pulled me flush against a strong body. His lips locked against mine fiercely and I responded in kind purely by reflex. I felt the bed at the back of my legs before we tumbled onto the sheets without breaking away from each other. My hands laced into his short locks and pulled slightly whilst his slid down to my hips.

He broke away quite suddenly and looked me straight in the eye, "Now are you going to listen to me?"

"Uh huh…" I mumbled unintelligibly, still reeling from what had just happened. Passion like that was not what I had been expecting, it was as though every nerve in my body was on fire at that moment. He rolled to my side and encased me in his arms, planting gentle kisses along my neck. There was one spot that when his lips came down upon it, all thought seemed to fly out of my mind and a near inaudible moan escaped my lips.

"I think you need to stop doing that now," I breathed out, pushing away from him slightly and looking into his amused face.

He gave me one last kiss on the lips. I could still feel the smile even then. "You seemed to be enjoying it enough. But yes, we still need to talk and we best do it now."

We shuffled apart again, our fingers still entwined, and tried to act seriously, "Then what did you have to tell me before I started acting like an idiot?"

"Have you noticed anyone acting strangely towards you?" He asked tentatively, picking his words with care. Slowly but surely we seemed to gravitate towards each other until we were pressed against each other with my head resting in the crook of his neck.

I gave the question some thought but nothing was particularly coming to mind, "Well, not that I can recall. Why'd you ask?"

"What about Tamaki? Or the twins?" He avoided my question and his grip on my waist tightened by just a fraction.

"Hikaru and Kaoru have seemed normal enough to me, with the exception of a little added excitement because of the holiday. And now that you mention it, Tamaki-sempai has stopped referring to me as his daughter," I pondered. His body tensed up against my own and I pulled back to look into conflicted eyes. "What's wrong?"

Kyoya let out a slow shaky breath before continuing, "Tamaki made certain intentions of his very clear to me last weekend. I wasn't going to involve you in it for the time being but keeping it from you could possibly cause more trouble in the long run."

"Then spit it out already," I jabbed a finger into his side to make a point to the boy. He winced and sent a glare in my direction before silently steeling himself for the next question.

"Did you know that Tamaki has feelings for you?" he asked softly, tracing indecipherable shapes onto my back.

I froze for a minute, thinking back to every odd and awkward exchange between us to the most recent one just this evening. Was he being serious? "Huh?"

"I take that as a no then," he laughed with little humour.

"That's absurd. Tamaki thinks of me as a daughter, he's made that very clear from the moment I officially joined the host club," I argued grumpily. Being left out of the loop on such an important fact wasn't very pleasing. It was leaving me baffled and just a little bit irritated. "If he has had feelings for me all this time I would think that I'd have noticed by now."

Kyoya snaked an arm up and tilted my face to look into his own, kissing me on the forehead and muttering, "Did you notice that I had feelings for you?"

"Well… no, but-"

"What about the twins?" he interrupted me with another kiss.

"They don't like me in that way; they're only teasing when they try to flirt with me. It's a part of their scheme to make me as uncomfortable as humanly possible, all part of a game," I said, feeling deflated. This conversation was causing me to re-analyse and reconsider all of my closest friendships at Ouran. How could I not have noticed? Knowing Tamaki he probably didn't even know for himself until recently. This wasn't fair to just spring on his best friend like this and that only riled me further.

"Is it possible that you're just not attuned to romantically forward behaviours? Or flirtation if you'd prefer to call it that," he attempted to say seriously, but I could feel the smirk the curled his lips against my forehead.

I provided another jab to his side with a bony finger, "I'm not blind. I know flirtation when it's staring me in the face. You're really telling me that your best friend also has feelings for me?"

"In a nutshell, yes," he deadpanned.

"I can see how that could become problematic."

We shared a chuckle that died away and left us in silence. I could sense he had more to say and waited patiently until he found the right moment to let me in on the next little snippet of information, "And he plans to act on those feelings."

Surprise would be an understatement. I couldn't sum up the feelings that welled up inside me at that statement. It was mainly confusion. At one time I may have liked to hear that the sought after Tamaki Suou had feelings for a 'commoner girl' like me, but that was then and hardly compared to what I felt here. "That shouldn't change things for us though. I have a choice in who I date and I've chosen you. Nothing he could say or do will change that fact. Besides, I couldn't put up with Tamaki any more than I already do, I'd end up in a mental institution within a month."

"I'm sorry for giving you the wrong idea earlier, it wasn't my intention to upset you. But if you do think that this is a mistake then now's your chance to make it clear," I kept quiet as he spoke, holding my breath until my lungs began to ache inside my chest. "Because frankly, I quite like you and I would very much like to be able to call you my own."

"I like you too, and I wasn't aware quite how much until I had thought you'd changed your mind," I smiled bashfully, nuzzling my nose into the crook of his neck which he responded with a continuation of his previous neck kissing. "Didn't I tell you to stop kissing me there?"

"You did. But that was before we had to talk. We've talked now," he murmured against the taut skin of my arched neck. I couldn't bring myself to argue back as all thought escaped my grasp once again.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **New chapter up ahead!~ Thank you to all my adorable little readers, followers, favouriters and reviewers. If I could give you all a hug, I would!~

Now, enjoy!

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I woke up in Yasuchika's room with Honey and Tamaki looming over me with cheesy grins stretching ear to ear. The scent of pancakes wafted through the open door and perked me up in an instant.

"Haru-chan! Haru-chan!" Honey bounced on the wide mattress beside me. "We're going to fly kites today! Isn't that exciting?"

Tamaki held up a selection of bunny and bear shaped kites that matched their favourite stuffed animals. "We brought the cutest kites with us, Haruhi! You'll have to show us how to fly them properly."

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, ignoring most of their words and focussing purely on the tantalising smell, "Pancakes?"

"The chef was almost finished cooking. Get up, Haru-chan! They're better when they're hot!" The small blonde darted off the bed, taking hold of Tamaki's wrist and dragging him behind him like a ragdoll. Slowly I trudged towards the door and shut it so I could change in privacy this time. I slipped the nightgown over my shoulders and set about picking a new combination of skirt and shirt. A beige tight fitted skirt, to avoid any embarrassing occurrences of it blowing up in the wind during the kite flying session this afternoon, and a long sleeved white ruffled shirt. The combination could be considered cute enough, at least by the Hitachiin's terms.

The breakfast table was laden with hundreds of pancakes and crepes. My mouth watered at the sight and was drawn towards my seat like a magnet. Honey was visibly shaking with anticipation as we waited for Mori and the staff to lay down the final plates of condiments and sliced fruits. I was more than happy to dig in.

"Tomorrow, boss, at least give us a chance to sleep in," Hikaru called across the table in between bites. "We're on vacation! Unless it starts raining popcorn or unicorns descend down from the heavens then there should be no good reason to wake us up."

"I second that," Kyoya grumbled under his breath beside me. I allowed some silent laughter at their expense. Waking up wasn't a problem for me as long as I had food like this as encouragement.

Tamaki pouted and his shoulders drooped, "But we need to make the most of the holiday!"

"Next week is the last week of the school year. It's not going to be that difficult. We're here to celebrate the end of exams!"

"And we celebrate by sleeping in and relaxing!" Both brother's stretched in their seats, kicking out at Tamaki under the table and hitting their mark. The Frenchman yelped and ducked under the table to rub at his battered shins. I was vaguely aware of his moping and cursing while I tried to finish my breakfast in peace and edge my legs away from the blonde's reach and ease my discomfort over having him in such close proximity to my legs.

Honey giggled and munched happily on a crepe, "We get an extra couple of weeks of holiday though, don't we Takashi? Preparing for university should be fun!"

"Ah," Mori nodded.

"Lucky for some," the redheads sighed wearily, still launching periodical kicks at the vulnerable boy under the table.

"The host club just won't be the same without you guys there every day."

"Don't worry, Haru-chan. Takashi and I will make sure to come visit you. And I'll bring lots of cakes!"

"What is it you're going to study, Honey-sempai, Mori-sempai?"

"Gastromony! I want to add patisseries and restaurants to my family's businesses. Training armies and police forces to fight everyday doesn't sound like much fun."

"English," the stoic member of the group muttered, leaving us all staring at him in question.

When he didn't expand on his answer or react to our puzzled expressions, Hikaru piped up with, "You're aware you would have to speak in that subject, right Mori-sempai?"

Mori came the closest I had ever seen him to looking exasperated, staring down the Hitachiin twins with dark eyes, "Yeah."

Kyoya reached under the table and pulled his friend out from his hiding spot. The pouting blonde narrowly dodged a teaspoon that Hikaru launched before scurrying out of the room on all fours to avoid any other projectiles the twins had gathered together as weapons. Honey, Hikaru and Kaoru shared a quiet laugh at the sight.

It was early afternoon when we got out into the closest field to the house each equipped with our own kite. Mine was a bright scarlet colour and a rainbow trail, bought especially by Tamaki. The hosts watched in silent fascination as I showed them how to make the toy soar high in the air. A strong breeze blustered through the hills and sent ripples through the long grass that tickled my shins.

Honey sat on Mori's shoulders with two bunny shaped kites, pulling them side to side to make them dance and twirl up in the clouds, "Look Takashi! This is easy!"

"Haruhi! Why does mine keep crashing?!" Tamaki whined, rushing past me with his kite in tow popping in and out of the grass. Giggling, I reeled in my own kite and ran over to him before he took off again.

"Like this, sempai." I took the battered toy and launched it up into the air and began to run, keeping an eye on the kite as I went. Tamaki jogged by my side, with wide innocent eyes. The kite shot up into the air easily and I passed the handle over to the overjoyed blonde. His hands overlapped my own and pulled me against his chest, encircling his arms around me and watched the bear shaped kite weave about the sky. The uneasy feeling in my gut intensified as I glimpsed Kyoya out the corner of my eyeing us disapprovingly from his spot beside the twins.

I ducked out of my senior's arms and smiled at him awkwardly, making a beeline for Kyoya who was the only one now without a kite.

"Don't you want to try flying one, Kyo?" I asked him, waving the scarlet plastic toy in front of my face.

"Kyo?" He furrowed his brows at the nickname, the shortened name only ever safely uttered by Honey.

"Would you prefer I call you sugarplum?" I teased. "Or my little snowflake?"

A grimace marred his face and he glared at me weakly, "No, Kyo is a much more acceptable alternative."

"That's what I thought," I said smugly, taking a seat beside him. Two strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me up onto his lap, saving me from the damp and the threat of grass stains. A blush stained my cheeks and I laid a kiss on his cheek in thanks.

We watched as the twins ran circles around us, crashing their kites into each other's several times and careening towards the earth. The boys would quarrel then continue their laps of us forgetting the fight seconds later, laughing all the while. Tamaki and Honey were chattering animatedly about all the different commoner's games they wanted to try out next with Mori watching over them wearing a serene smile. It was nice to see everyone this contented and as I leant back into the warmth emanating from Kyoya's chest, I wished that afternoon would last forever.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: **Bashing out the chapters for you guys, but I'm still being cruel and saving them up to post when I feel generous rather than post them as soon as I've finished them. Hope you're all enjoying it, my little cupcakes~

* * *

"Haruhi! Haruhi!" Hikaru's and Kaoru's voices echoed down the corridor. Seconds later they came skidding to a halt outside my open door with wide smiles. "What's a slumber party?"

They invited themselves in and dropped down onto the bed beside me, staring up at me with inquisitive eyes, "Yeah, Tamaki was going on about it being this weird commoner's ritual where you hit each other with pillows until you fall asleep."

"Is it true?" Hikaru whispered, as though he were being let in on some kind of top secret conspiracy. It was hard not to roll my eyes at their antics

"I have no idea where he gets these weird ideas from," I muttered unbelievingly under my breath.

"I believe a slumber party is just supposed to be a sleepover of sorts involving several people," Kyoya appeared suddenly at the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest. "The idea of pillow fights which Tamaki was referring to is just a simple form of entertainment for commoners."

The commoner's reference made me sigh but I took it in my stride. That was one of the things I had become accustomed to after the months of being in the host club. The twins looked confused for a moment but whirled around to me with matching Cheshire cat grins that spoke of impending trouble.

"You're coming to have a very _private_ slumber party with us tonight, Haruhi!" They sang suggestively, taking hold of my wrists and dragging me from my bed and across the floor. My protests went unheard as I flailed within their grasp but was too weak to break free. Thankfully Kyoya blocked their exit and glared down at them threateningly which had them releasing me in an instant and backing away from the menacing force that was the Shadow King.

"If you insist on involving my girlfriend in your incessant games then you can invite the rest of the hosts to this private slumber party of yours," he told them with a small smile that, while appearing pleasant, managed to instil fear in both the redheads. They nodded dejectedly, making their escape as Kyoya stepped aside and scurrying to tell the others of their plans.

The raven haired boy wandered into my room and helped me back onto my feet, smirking all the while. I jabbed him in the stomach with a finger but it didn't diminish the smug expression on his face.

"You've just guaranteed us all a sleepless night with that little display," I informed him with a glare.

He merely shrugged and lay back on the mattress, "Would you prefer I had let them carry you off to their room?"

For a minute I pretended to consider it then I curled up into his side and clung to his waist, "Thank you for saving me. I am in debt to you, oh powerful one."

"Very funny," he replied dryly, shoving me towards the edge of the bed and pulling me back against him at the last second. We continued the playful teasing until Tamaki and Hikaru bounded into the room, kitted out in silk pyjamas sets and yanked us to our feet and carried us off into Honey's room.

On the floor was an extra inflatable mattress made to look more enticing with a set of Honey's pink bed sheets and bunny themed quilt and pillows. A mini Usa-chan topped off the décor. We were sent tumbling onto the air mattress with a flop followed by Tamaki. The three of us attempted to settle comfortably on the small space unsuccessfully. Being crammed in between two solid expanses of chest wasn't the most comfortable thing I'd ever encountered and after hearing what Kyoya confided in me the night before I was more aware then ever when Tamaki's hands brushed up against me.

The twins leapt off Honey's bed and piled onto us, crushing the air out of my lungs with a painful wheeze, crying "dog pile" over and over and laughing uncontrollably before getting bored and attacking Mori with pillows. It was quite a sight to behold. As soon as Honey joined in, the stoic member stopped responding to the abuse and allowed them to whack him with the feather stuffed fabric.

It was in the early hours of the morning that Hikaru and Kaoru stopped babbling on and trying out Tamaki's suggestions of supposed slumber party rituals. Sleep finally took me when the silence fell over the hosts and I made Kyoya's chest into a makeshift pillow.

We awoke in a pile of limbs. I was lying on top of Kyoya with one of his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. Tamaki had cuddled into my back, spooning against me tightly with his face buried in my dishevelled hair. Honey was peering at us from his hiding spot under the blanket, having crawled to the edge of the bed to get a better view. His quiet giggles awoke his cousin, who groaned audibly and glared at us all before pulling the blanket up over his head and returned to dozing. The twins were snoring quietly; wrapped around each other in what looked like a horribly awkward sleeping position with Hikaru's leg hanging off the side of the bed and Kaoru's elbow pressing into his brother's cheek.

I couldn't move for the weight of Tamaki holding me down and each time I attempted to wiggle out of the hold, he would whimper and nuzzle his face further into the crook of my neck. Eventually I gave up on the battle and settled for tracing shapes on Kyoya's chest then running my finger tip up his neck and along his angular jawline.

"Need. Sleep." Kyoya grunted as he cracked open an eye and squinted at me. Upon seeing me, he pulled me languidly up onto his chest and out of Tamaki's death grip. The blonde whimpered again in sleepy disapproval before rolling away from us and falling off onto the hardwood floor with a thump. We chuckled at the following groan and his drowsy attempts to clamber blindly back onto the mattress.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." I teased as Kyoya finally opened both eyes to stare up at me groggily.

"I don't like mornings. But I suppose I could get used to it if I wake up next to you. Preferably not on an inflatable mattress however, my back is killing me."

"Play your cards right and I may provide a complimentary massage later on to help that," I divulged. He raised an eyebrow and smiled appreciatively.

"Wow, look at them all," a whispered voice uttered by the doorway. With a small amount of manoeuvring I was able to see Mori and Honey's younger brothers observing us all from the cracked open door. "Taka-kun's friend's really take up a lot of room, huh?"

"What does that matter!? I just want to know who the hell is staying in my room," Yasuchika snapped. Satoshi responded with a swift smack to the back of the head and more whispered bickering.

Honey concealed himself within the depths of his blankets again to avoid an early morning battle with his brother. Unleashing the wrath of the Haninozuka's this early in the morning wasn't a pleasant wakeup call by any means. Mori raised his head and shushed his brother and cousin with a yawn before collapsing back into the pillow and drifting off again.

"Should we wake them?"

"Taka-kun won't like that…" Satoshi scolded his cousin.

"And?" he shot back. "You wanted to come out here to see your brother, here's your chance."

"I think we should just leave them be," the dark haired boy backed away from the door and disappeared from our view.

"Screw that," Yasuchika flung open the door and threw himself onto Honey's bed. Mori's reflexes were slowed by sleep and hardly moved to dodge the human cannonball. The twins yelped, jumped up in fright and toppled off the bed. Stealthily, Honey slipped off the end of the bed and onto our mattress, rolling over us as carefully as he could and towards the door to his escape. Chika had other plans however and as soon as his eyes locked onto his target, launched into fight mode.

The brothers brawled tirelessly until Yasuchika met his inevitable loss and scuttled off to sulk. By this time we were all wide away and none of us very amused by the racket. Even the staff stalked about outside, tutting disapprovingly at the display.

"So much for sleeping in," the twins grunted, glaring at the door with glowing feline eyes and joining Mori in burying their heads into the pillows.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: **_Dun dun dun~ _New chapter time! Wow, didn't think I'd be able to keep a story going again, especially getting past twenty chapters! Thanks to everyone who's reading, I love you guys.

And I know most of this fanfic is based off the anime, but I felt the need to bring in Satoshi along with Yasuchika just for my own amusement. I need to involve Nekozawa at some point too, he's one of my favourites, hm...

Anyways! Enjoy, my little dumplings!~

* * *

"So you're the one who's stolen my room, huh?" Yasuchika glared at me from across the table, examining the white sundress I was wearing with calculating eyes. Brunch was over and we were all trying to decide how to spend our last day in Karuizawa. It looked as though shopping was the most popular choice along with taking a nap – suggested by the twins.

"Uh, yeah," it was hard not to squirm under the weight of his stare. "Sorry about that."

He crossed his arms defiantly and stuck his nose up in the air, "They should have given you Mitsukuni's room. That's more suited for a girl."

"Stop being so rude, Chika!" Satoshi scolded, smacking his cousin on the head with a spoon. He then turned to me with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about him, Haruhi-chan."

"That's alright, really," I stuttered out, waving my hands dismissively.

Hikaru came to stand behind the two younger boys, eyeing them with distaste whilst munching on an apple, "Did you two just come out here to annoy us or what?"

"Chika was competing in a karate tournament this weekend; this was on the way home so we thought we'd stop by and see my brother," Satoshi beamed. The young Haninozuka grumbled some profanities under his breath, something along the lines of incestuous idiots, to avoid any more attacks and bruising his ego any further.

Mori ruffled his younger brother's hair with one large hand, eliciting an overjoyed grin from Satoshi at the attention. It still amazed me that those two could even be related, they were total opposites despite looking so similar. You could tell that the younger Morinozuka would be a smiling replica of his sibling given a growth spurt and a haircut.

"And we can come home with you guys tonight, right Taka-kun?" Satoshi peered up hopefully to his brother, receiving a curt nod in response.

Tamaki stood proudly at the head of the table, demanding our attention, "But for now men, we should head out and hit the shops! We haven't any time to waste dillydallying about inside all day. The sun is shining after all!"

"But what about our nap?" The twins whined.

"You can sleep on the way home!" He declared, pointing an accusing finger at the pair. "It's because of you troublesome redheads that we hardly got any sleep as it is!"

Kaoru rounded on the 'mommy' of the group with weary eyes and an overdramatic pout, "Kyoya-sempai, do something! We. Need. Sleeeeep."

"Just do what the buffoon asks. It is our last day after all," the raven haired host said calmly, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. The twins deflated at the inevitable answer and trudged back to their seats in a sulk.

"Cool! Can we come?" The young Morinozuka asked Tamaki chirpily.

He was met with a thumbs up and an encouraging toothy grin, "Of course! The more the merrier."

"As long as you keep that cousin of yours on a short leash," Hikaru sniggered. Honey looked torn between glaring at his friends for teasing his brother and laughing along.

"I am not a dog!" Chika yelled, looking ready to pounce on the mischievous twins. I steeled myself to escape the immediate area of any impending fights but Yasuchika refrained from thrashing the pair.

Honey smiled sympathetically at his sibling and hugged Usa-chan closer to his chest, "Just ignore them, Chika-chan!"

"I'm not taking advice from an alien either!" He cried out in rage, waving an angry fist wildly in the air. His brother hardly responded to the insult and carried on eating his raspberry shortcake although I could sense the melancholy air around the loli-boy.

"That kid needs some anger management," I overhear the twins muttering and I couldn't agree with them more.

We eventually wound up in the town centre of Karuizawa, enjoying all the sights and smells from the delightful market stalls that lined the streets. Tamaki corralled us together and led us like a pack of sheep around each of the quaint little shops but one by one the hosts slipped away to find something suited to their own tastes. Hikaru and Kaoru were inspected a stall selling handmade clothing and critiqued the craftsmanship against their own works. Mori, Honey, Satoshi and Yasuchika wandered the produce stalls where both Honey and Satoshi entertained themselves by chasing the loose hens that the farmer let roam. Tamaki dragged Kyoya into a toy shop and rambled on and on about each item's significance and games they could be used in.

Which left me dawdling about, weaving through the crowds of smiley happy people to examine each of the stalls in turn. Eventually I grew bored and resorted to buying an ice cream cone from the same vendor as the last time I visited the town with Hikaru. The cold dessert was refreshing and I took a seat to relax and enjoy the atmosphere.

"Well hello there," a pair of boys sidled up to me, one of them dropping down onto the seat beside me and draping an arm behind me to rest on the back of the bench. One had scruffy black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail whilst the other had short cut dirty blonde hair with far too much gel applied to the stiff spikes. I shuffled closer to the edge to avoid the close proximity but with each move he followed. "What's a pretty girl like you doing out here all alone?"

"Trying to enjoy some ice cream. And I'm not alone."

The black haired boy leered at me as I tried to mask the discomfort, "Oh yeah? It looks like you little buddies have all forgotten about ya so how 'bout we show you a good time?"

"No thanks," I stuttered looking for a way past the pair and to see if any the hosts were close enough to be of assistance. The identical red mops of hair were the only ones I could make out from this spot and they were on the other side of the square. Surely I could just excuse myself and make it over to them with little to no hassle.

As soon as I made to stand, the boy sitting next to me grabbed me roughly by the wrist and yanked me back down into the seat but didn't relinquish his hold, "That's not the answer we were looking for."

The clearing of a throat and a looming shadow made the boys look up. Kyoya stood frowning at the pair, his icy aura instilling fear in the duo. "I think she said no."

They recovered quickly from the intrusion and sneered up at the bespectacled boy, "And what are you gonna do about it, four eyes?" Honey skipped over and peered at them from behind Kyoya's legs. "Aw, gonna set your baby brother there loose on us? Don't make me laugh!"

"Leave my friends alone," Honey warned, his usually warm hazel eyes darkening dangerously. His small fists clenched at his sides. The boys laughed at the loli-boy, disregarding the threat callously.

"It's alright, Honey-sempai," I tried standing again and calming the oncoming storm that was the Haninozuka heir. "We'll just-"

The spiky haired boy shoved me back down into the seat, eyes narrowed at me dangerously. "Oh no you're no-"

Before the words could fully leave his mouth, Satoshi came stampeding towards us with Yasuchika in tow crying, "Get your hands off the lady! Don't you have any manners?!" with fire blazing fiercely in their dark eyes. In a second the pair had tossed the larger boys into a heap on the road and all three of the martial artists towered over them menacingly.

"Geez! These dudes are crazy!" They scuttled away, crashing into some of the bystanders as they went.

"Are you alright?" Honey and Satoshi asked in unison, fussing over the faint bruises that were already beginning to appear on my wrists. I rubbed at the offending spots gently and thanked them for stepping in.

Kyoya shrugged off his long sleeved shirt and gestured for me to lift my arms. He slipped my arms into shirt and the long sleeves drooped well past my hands and covered the marks for the time being. I smiled up at him graciously, knowing that explaining this to Tamaki and the twins would have only caused unnecessary drama. My thin arms wrapped around his waist and hugged him against me tightly.

We all reconvened by the clothing stalls after I shared another ice cream with Honey and allowed him to buy me a selection of cutesy key chains each with a fuzzy little animal dangling from multi-coloured beads and threads. Tamaki had his arms full with bags, the contents ranging from action figures to a calendar with different breeds of dog posed for each month.

I clambered into the limousine with Kyoya, Yasuchika and the twins. Hikaru tried to talk me into having a private catwalk show for him and Kaoru before we left but I flat out refused. Within minutes of leaving, the identical brothers were out cold, snoring softly from their curled up positions at the far end of the limo. I watched as Chika played some handheld console that he'd pinched off of the twins sleeping forms, ruining their saved files as revenge for calling him a dog earlier in the day and laughing maniacally to himself. Turning to whisper to Kyoya, I noticed that he had already fallen asleep as well, his glasses slipping dangerously low on his nose. I carefully removed them and stored them safely in one of the storage compartments before settling down to catch up on the missed sleep from the night before. My dreams were filled of evil wizards turning people into cats and bunny rabbits.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: **New chapter guys, woooo~ Loving and private messages you're sending in, great to get the encouragement and support! ^_^

Enjoy!~

* * *

The last week of school was tediously slow. We received our grades from the week before and unsurprisingly I passed with flying colours and came top of the class again. Hikaru and Kaoru cheered when they got handed their scores, crushing me into a tight embrace and thanking me for my help.

Our third year clientele said their weepy goodbyes to us in the host club, demanding most of our time, as well as Honey and Mori's regular customers mourning the departure of their favourite hosts. The emotional sessions drained me of energy and I was glad to get home and jump into bed each night before starting the same routine all over again. On the Friday night, a graduation ball would be held for all the third years before the next school year began and countless new first years started roaming the halls alongside us. A buzz of anticipation filled the students, all discussing their designer dresses and suits that they planned to wear.

"Kyo?" I tapped him on the shoulder as I leant over to peer at what he was working on that laptop of his. "How much of my debt do I have left to pay?"

He raised a curious eyebrow and opened up another spread sheet filled with copious figures, all with far too many zeros on the end of them for my taste. "There isn't much left to repay in fact. You have eleven percent of it left to pay off."

"Wow, is that all?" Happiness bubbled up inside me at the newfound knowledge.

"Indeed," Kyoya paused in his typing to turn in his seat and face me. "Why might you be asking?"

I shrugged, "I've lost track. You stopped adding to it a while back, one of the perks of dating you I suppose."

He smirked and an evil glint appeared in his eye, "That can change if you insist."

"No, no, that's fine," I laughed nervously, scratching at the back of my head. "It's just… I think it might be time to let people know I'm actually a girl. A year of hiding it is enough, I don't want to get to my graduation and everyone still to be none the wiser."

Kyoya took a few seconds to think, bringing out his little black note book and flicking through the pages and skimming the words jotted down, "I suppose the charade must be getting boring, but you are aware that you can't continue your work as a host, yes?"

"I don't need to work as a host; I can visit as a customer. Or just serve tea and coffee like I did before," I explained. The idea of visiting as a customer and paying the boys to flirt with me felt unnatural but it would placate everyone and allow me to see my friends as often as I wished. "Although I will miss sitting talking with the ladies."

"That's true. The last of your debt can be paid with those services, or I could pay off the last of it as a gift then you're free to do as you please considering your little secret," he offered casually, removing his glasses to clean with a silk handkerchief produced from his pocket.

I stared at him, slightly dumfounded. Never in the history of knowing the boy had he been quite so generous without an ulterior motive powering him. My mind whirled as I tried to think of some benefit he could gain from it but I came up blank. "You would do that for me? I can't see much merit in that for you."

"It's only a small gesture," he shrugged, glancing up at me for the first time without his lenses to disguise his eyes. The steely depths held no lie that I could find and I smiled bashfully.

"Perhaps for you. That's still a sizeable amount of money to me."

His glasses were perched back onto his nose, spotlessly clean once again. "Well, your happiness holds value to me that exceeds any sum of money I could lay forth."

"Was that the Shadow King removing his mask?" I teased lightly, unsure of how to respond to the confession. "I never expected to hear something quite so sweet coming from you."

"It's a rare occurrence. I'd make the most of it if I were you," Kyoya reached out and pulled me down into his lap, resting his head on my shoulder and placing a kiss on my neck.

"Well thanks, but you don't need to pay it for me," I assured him. My neck instinctively stretched to give him more access in continuing his journey up to my jawline. "I can serve tea and help with the cleaning. That'll stop Tamaki and the twins from developing separation anxiety as well."

The kisses stopped as Tamaki ran past us after the twins in a blur of blue. We watched as the Frenchman crashed into a chair and tumbled to the floor. "Fair enough. I have a proposition for you."

"Go on."

"My family is holding a dinner party and I wanted to invite you as my date for the evening," he explained, his fingers playing with the buttons on my blazer.

"Are you sure your father would want me there?" I asked uncertainly. "Last time I met him I wasn't exactly polite."

Kyoya grimaced thinking back to that night, "They aren't aware of us dating yet, as far as I know. As my girlfriend he will just have to overcome any distaste he may or may not have for you."

"If you say so. When?"

"Sunday evening." He peered up at the clock, starting his own silent countdown to the ladies' entrances.

I stood, smoothed down my uniform and made some space between us as the doors opened and dozens of girls pranced in and set themselves at their appropriate tables. "Sure, I'd love to go with you. I'll have to talk the twins into providing me with a dress."

My mind wandered to what I could wear and what I would have to go through in the hands of the twins in order to attain the garment, as well as getting a suit fitted for the graduation ball, that was mandatory attendance as a member of the host club. The thought was enough to send a shiver down my spine.

"Sounds like fun," he chimed sarcastically.

With a brief shove to the shoulder in retaliation, I began to wander away to take care of my duties. My first stop was at the Hitachiin's table which was already mobbed with girls.

"Hello there, Haruhi." They crooned, waving me over to stand in between them. The ladies all greeted me enthusiastically, expecting a show from the twins now that I was here to join in their act.

"Care for a cookie?" Hikaru winked, biting down on one end of the chocolate chip cookie and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh, thanks," my fingers gripped the part of the cookie sticking out of his mouth and snapped off a chunk to toss into my mouth. "I need a favour."

"Anything for you. We'll be back in a moment ladies." They grabbed me under the armpits and carried me away into the kitchen, cornering me curiously and eagerly, "What's up?"

I squirmed anxiously under their gaze, scratching nervously at my arms as I asked for their assistance, "Have… Have you got a dress I could borrow for the weekend?"

"Oooh, hot date?" Kaoru crowed, elbowing his brother in the side with an exaggerated wink.

"Dinner party with Kyoya's family," I informed them.

They hissed as though in pain, biting at their lips. "Oh man. Good luck with that. But I'm sure we can conjure something up."

"Just come home with us tonight and you can try out the suit we designed for you too! We made it to match ours," they beamed.

"Thanks guys," I pulled them into a brief hug, smiling up at them as I dashed off to greet my designated ladies of the day who were waiting patiently at our table. They smiled up at me warmly, waving bashfully. Switching into host mode, I sat down and began to pour tea and not think of the torture I would be going through later tonight.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: **This is mainly just a filler chapter for my own amusement~ Catering to all those who like a bit of HikaruxHaruhixKaoru on the side of their HaruhixKyoya ;D which I quite clearly do! Plus it's fun to write!~

Now my little buttercups, enjoy~

* * *

"No way." It was hard to fight the temptation to stamp my feet in protest. I had already been forced into a multitude of dresses, each one more ridiculous than the last. I swear that they were trying to drive me crazy with all these elaborate and skimpy garments, none of which would be suitable for meeting your boyfriend's incredibly wealthy family let alone step outside in.

"Aw, c'mon Haruhi!" Kaoru begged, swinging another dress in front of me enticingly. The red fabric shimmered under the intense lighting of the twins' studio.

Hikaru didn't pause in his browsing of fashion collections stored in a huge walk in wardrobe at the back end of the room, "You've got to at least try them on."

"That tiny piece of fabric can hardly be called a dress," I deadpanned. My arms were crossed in defiance and Kaoru looked as though he were ready to jump on me and wrestle the dress onto me if it were the last thing he did. Mischief and determination shone brightly in his amber depths that narrowed dangerously at me.

"We've got smaller things you could try on, if you must know," Hikaru sang, carrying out another armful of possibilities that I would be forced into whether I liked it or not. He held up one in particular and came to stand behind me, pulling the material tight across my body in such a way that crushed me hard against the length of his body as he inspected the view in the floor length mirror. I watched his reflection resting his head on my shoulder and analysing my appearance before he leant down and whispered softly in my ear, "And you'd look great in all of them."

"Now change!" They both cried out gleefully, giving me a light shove towards the changing area with the dresses piled high in my arms. Sighing, I resigned myself to the inevitable torture of acting as the twins' dress-up doll for the next few hours and dumped the clothing on the dressing table.

"I don't know why I put up with this nonsense," I muttered under my breath as I tugged off each article of my school uniform.

Light sniggering could be heard from the other side of the black satin curtain that separated my half-naked body from the Hitachiins' leering eyes. "Because you love us?"

"And we give you the most gorgeous free clothes?" The other sang playfully.

I didn't give them the satisfaction of an answer and continued pulling the tight garment over my head. My arms got stuck as I tried to manoeuvre my body into the right holes but with a large amount of effort it finally pulled into place. Glancing in the mirror, I took note of the way it clung to every inch of my body like a second skin.

"Hurry up! Or do we need to come in and help you?" One voice called out in a mock seductive tone. The tapping of an impatient foot echoed in the enormous room but I just rolled my eyes and tried to tug the dress down to cover more of my legs before revealing myself to my best friends.

"We'd be happy to slip you out of those clothes," another hummed. I could almost imagine the suggestive wiggling of auburn eyebrows.

I poked my head out through the curtains and glared at the pair as they chuckled at my expense. "You wouldn't dare. I'm finished anyway, but I look a mess."

Four hands latched onto me and dragged me out into plain view where the critiquing session began. I felt truly exposed as each little part of me was thoroughly inspected but the prying eyes. "Hmmm… Maybe in a different colour."

"And maybe a little bow around the waist?"

Storming back to the safety of the changing room, I attempted to yank the dress over my head as quickly as possible and tangled myself up in the stretchy fabric again. "I am never going out looking like this. It's like I'm wearing nothing!"

"That would still be an improvement," Both voices chimed with amusement.

"Quit joking around guys. I really do need your help here," I slumped against the back of the dressing room in defeat, pulling my knees up under my chin with the dress rumpled up around my chest. "The last time I met Kyoya's father, I openly insulted the guy in front of everyone so I highly doubt I'm in his good books."

"Nobody is in that man's good books," Kaoru peeked into the changing room with sympathetic eyes and began to help me out of the death trap of a dress. His fingers worked nimbly and I was free in a matter of seconds. I hardly noticed in that moment that I was sitting in front of the blushing boy in nothing but underwear.

Hikaru paced around on the other side of the curtain, presumably picking the next dress for me to try on. "He's a modern day Scrooge."

"But, what we can do-" Kaoru crouched down beside me and pulled me into a one armed embrace.

"- is make you look drop dead gorgeous." Hikaru wandered in with a new pile of dresses, all in pale pastel tones and no lycra in sight. The relief that shot through my system was enough to make me pull Kaoru into a tight hug, in which I ignored his embarrassed protests until he returned the favour and smiled up appreciatively at the other twin.

"Would that be enough, you highness?" They jested in unison. A long white gown was dropped over my head, enveloping both me and Kaoru in a flowing cascade of shimmering silk.

"Then I suggest you start working your magic," I teased, prodding Kaoru in the side with a pointed finger. He winced but beamed at me in delight whilst his brother buzzed in and out of the changing area with hoards of new choices followed by shoes and handbags. I was in for a long night.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: **New chapter guys~ Past few days have been busy and I haven't gotten any writing done ;_; but luckily for you all I had some chapters written up already! So I apologize if there's a delay in updates this week. On a side note, I've been thinking of writing a HikaruxHaruhixKaoru fic, since writing for them can be so much fun *fangirly moment* but we'll see!

Enjoy~

* * *

The graduation ball was held in the biggest dancing hall that the school had to offer, and even then with all the students and their family members buzzing around the room it was at full capacity. A wide stage lined the back of the room on which all the third year students were sat awaiting the chairman to call upon them and shake their hand. Tables dotted the floor below where mothers were sat dabbing at their eyes with expensive handkerchiefs and whispering about how proud they were.

The host club had a special table laid out with an excellent view of the stage, each kitted out in Hitachiin label suits. The Haninozuka and Morinozuka families joined us, sipping quietly on champagne flutes and eyeing each of us with intrigue. It was the first time I had met either family, with the exception of Satoshi and Yasuchika who were sat in between Tamaki and Hikaru to the young Haninozuka's misfortune.

Tamaki's father slowly but surely worked his way through each of the third year classes and when he came to our club members, the applause in the room seemed to ring that little bit louder. I observed Honey's mother shed a tear as her son made his way back to his seat and even Mori's father, as impressively stoic as his eldest son, smile faintly.

When the formalities were complete, the school's music students began to play and the ladies jumped at the chance to twirl about on the dance floor and show off their specially made dresses. Our table swarmed with girls, all expecting us to take their hands and entertain them in turn. I made to stand and a strong hand grasped my own, tugging me through the strong wall of women and into the steady pace of the waltz.

"Hello there, princess," the low voice purred into my ear. His arms held me close and adapting to dancing as the woman almost had me stumbling and stepping on his feet.

I stared up at my blonde senior, perplexed, "Tamaki-sempai? What are you doing? There were plenty of ladies waiting for you to dance with them."

"Perhaps I wanted to start with my special lady," he grinned down at me.

"Every lady is you special lady," I scoffed, raising a solitary eyebrow at his lame excuse.

"You can't honestly believe that."

I chose to ignore his last statement and peered over Tamaki's shoulder at the twins. They had a girl sandwiched in between them who blushed furiously as they whispered into her ears; dancing slowly and sensually in an impressive three-way fashion. It attracted hoards of girls who swooned and squealed all hoping for the same treatment.

As the song ended, I pulled away from Tamaki and bowed my head to him in thanks before dashing off and finding a lady to dance with. Schmoozing and dancing were not natural talents of mine but I made it through each waltz and semi-awkward introduction to some of the most influential and wealthy families in Japan without making a fool of myself.

Satoshi and Mori found me making my way off the dance floor and I greeted them both with a warm embrace.

"Food?" Mori's low baritone rumbled in suggestion.

My eyes widened and mouth began to water. Food hadn't even crossed my mind until now and Ouran quality food was bound to be out of this world. "There's food? Where?!"

"Of course, Haruhi-kun! Come on, before Mitsukuni eats all the cakes," Satoshi joked. He grabbed my hand and his brother's arm before pulling us towards the far side of the room where tables were laden with food and bottles of wine. Honey sat with his parents at a small table, munching happily on the sugary delicacies provided but as his eyes caught sight of us he leapt up and tackled me into a tight hug.

"Haru-chan! Are you enjoying yourself? Come eat cake with Usa-chan and I!" The petite blonde clung on to me tightly, nuzzling his cheek against my own and enticing me to cuddle him back.

He slid back down till his feet met the ground and tugged me towards the table where Mori had already laid down an assorted plate of savory appetisers for me to munch on, "It's going quite well I think, sempai."

"Are you going to miss us, Haru-chan? 'Cuz I'm going to miss you," Honey smiled shyly at me. His warm chocolate eyes displayed his emotion like an open book; hope, sadness and love shone brightly in their depths.

"Of course I'll miss you both. Host club won't be the same without either of you there," I ruffled the senior's hair affectionately and he leaned into the caress coyly.

"I'll make sure to come visit you as much as I can then! And you can be my guinea pig for my recipes," his usual bubbly self was back in full force, bouncing in his seat and cramming spoonfuls of chocolate sponge into his mouth at breakneck speeds.

"Can't say no to that, sempai!" I giggled. My eyes assessed each of the snacks laid before me but my mind acted on autopilot and selected the fine piece of Ootoro.

A soft tap on the shoulder and the clearing of a throat caught my attention. Satoshi bowed low to, smiling brightly at me with mischievous eyes. "Haruhi-kun, would you care to dance?"

"It would be my pleasure, Satoshi," I nodded, grinning at the boys antics.

The young Morinozuka cheered and swung me out onto the dance floor just as I was about to bite into a ravishing piece of sushi, much to the amusement of Honey. I giggled as he spun me around excitedly, making a small scene in the midst of unamused parents and chuckling girls.

"Why are you wearing a suit, Haruhi-kun? Is everyone truly that big an idiot that they still think you're a boy?" His hushed words were tainted with disbelief and amusement.

"That's the general consensus. I don't plan on keeping up the charade for much longer."

"It's about time! Because it looks like loverboy numero uno wants your attention," he teased, giving my waist a brief squeeze and placing a kiss on my cheek. Before I knew what was happening I was being flung backwards and stumbled clumsily into someone's arms.

"Tamaki-sempai isn't my-" I called after the retreating boy, but he was long gone into the crowd of partygoers.

The Frenchman laughed lightly at my puzzled face and led me to a quieter section of the hall with his arm firmly around my waist. "Haruhi, care to take a walk with me?"

"Uh, I promised Hikaru and Kaoru that I'd go dance with them-" My eyes sought out the two redheads amongst the blur of suits and dresses but they were nowhere to be seen.

A sharp tug to the arm stopped me from hesitating and following my senior out onto the beautifully decorated balcony. "Nonsense! Those idiots can wait for now."

"If you're sure," I chuckled nervously, waiting as he closed the doors behind him and returned to my side with a distant smile.

We stood in silence. The stars littered the sky like a scattering of glitter against the depths of darkness above us. Tamaki looked serene and inched his hand closer to my own before he eventually plucked up the courage to slot his fingers in between my own. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, it's been a good evening so far. My feet are killing me though," I yawned, gesturing to the offending appendages and leaning heavily on the stone wall that stood between us and the night's sky.

"The price we pay to keep our ladies entertained," he grinned. Silence reigned over us once again as I savoured the crisp night breeze that played at my hair and sent goose bumps across my skin. Tamaki's eyes never left me once. "Haruhi? There was something I wanted to tell you."

"What is it, sempai?" I glimpsed up at him innocently, biting back the curiosity that welled up inside me at the boy's awkwardness.

"Don't you think you can drop the sempai by now? Aren't we close enough?" It was obvious that he was fighting the temptation to pout and remain serious.

All I could muster in response was a half-hearted shrug, "Force of habit."

He turned to me and tightened his grip on my hand. Amethyst eyes glistened with determination in the moonlight as his face slowly descended towards my own, "Haruhi, I wanted you to know-"

"Haruhi?" Two identical voices echoed from behind me just as his lips were mere millimetres from my own and his heavy breath assaulted my senses with the faint scent of wine.

"God damn it," he grunted, pulling away from me and staring back out over the balcony at the courtyard below.

"Kyoya-sempai's been looking for you!" Kaoru informed me with a nudge and mischievous grin. His feline eyes glowed softly in the darkness and they regarded the blonde behind me with a detectable level of suspicion.

Hikaru slinked over from the door and wrapped me up in a strong embrace, spinning me on the spot and tilting me back in strong arms to the faint lull of the music in the background, "And you promised us a dance!"

"I'll be right there, guys." I eyed the blonde from over my shoulder and smiled meekly, "Sorry, Tamaki."


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: **Hello my little cupcakes~ Have a new chapter! Back to being stuck in bed for me :( despite being unable to sleep. So if there are more mistakes than usual just put that down to super drowsiness.

Enjoy!~

* * *

I slipped into the gown that the twins had picked out for me. The pale lilac colour complimented my pale complexion and clung to my waist in a way that accentuated what little figure I had available. All in all, they had done an immaculate job which helped calm my nerves just that little bit as I waited for Kyoya to come pick me up on the Sunday night. At exactly six o'clock there was a light knock on the door. The Shadow King was never a minute late.

"About time you got here," I jested, tapping my foot impatiently as I opened the door for him.

"I'd hate to think you're insinuating that I have poor time management skills."

My eyes trailed up and down his body, admiring the dark suit he was wearing until I looked up and noticed the obvious difference, "Are you wearing contacts?"

"My sister stole my glasses earlier and refuses to return them. I had little choice in the matter," he sighed. Exasperation radiated from him as he trailed his slender fingers along the shelves of the bookcase he was browsing.

"I like the sound of your sister." I took a seat on the couch and began strapping on the small heeled sandals that the twins had offered me. They were the only ones I had been able to walk in safely out of the dozens they forced me to try on that evening.

"Just you wait; she'll have a field day with you. You look lovely, by the way. I take it that the twins enjoyed playing dress-up with you," an evil glint shone in his obsidian depths. Without his glasses his emotions were much easier to read as though his defences had been stripped away.

He came to join me on the couch, wrapping an arm around me, expression still smug. "Wipe that smirk off your face, Kyo. Or I'll go change into jeans and t-shirt. I'm sure that'll go down well with your dinner guests."

"Perhaps not, but I wouldn't complain about helping you out of that dress by any means," his breath against my neck sent small shivers through my body and I could feel the deep rumble in his chest as he chuckled at my reaction.

"You would be so lucky," I shot back. He left a small trail of kisses up my neck until he pressed against my lips eagerly and I fought the temptation to give in to him right there and then.

"And what if I was to push my luck?" his words made it through to my hazy mind in between searing kisses that took my breath away.

I fell onto my back with his strong body pressing down on my own. It was only when his lips left to journey down to my collarbone and continued on a downward path that I managed to snap back to reality for a moment and remind him that we had somewhere to be. "We'll never know, because we have a dinner to be attending, remember?"

"Wouldn't you rather stay here?" Kyoya groaned against my skin. He began nipping at my neck and sliding his fingers up the length of my legs.

"God, yes. But I don't want any member of the Ootori private police force breaking down my door just because we never turned up."

He huffed but pulled away, "I hate it when you're right."

"Come on. Let's get this dinner out the way and maybe I'll just decide to stay the night," I pulled him to his feet and gave him one last teasing kiss.

We straightened out our clothes and hurried down to the limousine where Tachibana was waiting for us patiently. The car ride there seemed to drag out for hours, consisting mainly of Kyoya rubbing small circles into my back in a soothing motion. I clutched tightly at his knee as I tried to force my anxiety down and compose myself for the long night ahead.

The Ootori mansion looked more daunting in the evening light. Several other couples were making their way up to the huge building as we sidled past the security guards with Tachibana in tow. It looked as though there were a dozen different business owners attending tonight with varying numbers of guests. They stuck together in packs, schmoozing and exchanging the usual formalities as they waited for their host to join them in the festivities. I clung to Kyoya's arm as we made our way towards a dark haired woman sitting at the back of the room, sipping elegantly on a glass of wine and discreetly observing the other guests.

When she noticed us approaching, she jumped up and stamped over to Kyoya with a fire in her eyes and began scolding him in hushed tones, "Kyoya! Where have you been?! I was looking all over for you. Akito was called out to the hospital and – Oh! Who's this little gem?"

The girl eyed me curiously. Kyoya cleared his throat and spared me an amused smirk. "Fuyumi, this is Haruhi Fujioka. Haruhi, this is my sister."

"I think I get why you get on with Tamaki so well now," I muttered.

Fuyumi squealed and grabbed me into a hug. "Are you my baby brother's date tonight!? Oh, you are too cute! Is that a Hitachiin dress? It's gorgeous! Haruhi, Haruhi, Haruhi… I've heard that name before. You're in the host club right?"

Kyoya watched on, enjoying watching me get smothered by his sister's affections. I silently pleaded with him to save me and eventually he caved and pried the enthusiastic woman off me with ease.

"Yes, Haruhi works in the host club. She is my date for the evening. And you need to calm down before father sees you making a scene," he informed her with an icy tone.

"Oh, Kyoya, don't go ruining my fun!" Fuyumi whined, hands planted firmly on her hips. "But I guess I have the whole night to pick Haruhi's brain. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to that isn't obsessed with business."

Soft chuckling signalled the arrival of another person and nimble fingers tapped Kyoya gently on the shoulder, "About time you came to join the party, Kyoya. Couldn't hide forever, hm?"

"I had other business to attend to," Kyoya replied to the man who towered behind us. I assumed that he was a relative of Kyoya's due to the very obvious resemblance, especially by the stormy grey eyes.

Fuyumi rounded on the man, eyes wide and hopeful, "Yuuichi, has Akito returned from the hospital yet? Father should be joining us any minute now."

"Not to my knowledge. Getting the time off for myself in order to attend was stressful enough. Now, I shan't continue neglecting our guests as such, I suggest you both do the same." He sauntered off, weaving between the guests and greeting them warmly quite unlike how he had spoken to Kyoya and Fuyumi. The fact that he had ignored my existence only irritated me slightly but I let it slide for the time being.

"Who was that?"

"That's just Yuuichi, don't worry about him my dear. He can be rude but he means nothing by it!" The black haired beauty cooed as each of the Ootori's took me by the arm and began to lead me around the room, greeting each of the guests as we went and exchanging brief small talk.

"He's my eldest brother. Akito is the second oldest and by the looks of it, he may not show up until later if at all," Kyoya muttered, glancing at his watch with scrutinising eyes.

A sudden ripple of whispered conversation caught my attention. Descending down the stairs was Kyoya's father and the Ootori children stood to attention, waiting patiently at the bottom of the staircase in silence. I held on tightly to Kyoya's arm and watched as the man passed us without a second glance and ushered his guests into the dining room.

We followed closely behind and took our allocated seats near the head of the table. Kyoya and Fuyumi sat on either side of me, casually observing and analysing their guests and competition like true businessmen they were bred to be. I tried not to fidget in my seat at the uncomfortable situation and sipped slowly on my glass of water. Such formal events were out of my comfort zone even after a year at Ouran Academy. Dealing with the heirs to huge enterprises was a completely different game to impressing their parents.

I suddenly felt the weight of a heavy gaze fall upon me. My eyes flickered up and scanned the room to discover it was the eldest Ootori, his critical brown eyes burning holes in the side of my head from behind thin framed glasses. It took all my courage to meet his gaze full on and attempt to feign indifference and push away any visible sign of intimidation. Eventually he gave a discreet nod in my direction and turned to speak to Yuuichi as though nothing had just happened. Exhaling the breath I'd only just realised I had been holding, I allowed the ache in my lungs to fade away along with my pent up anxiety just as the starter was served up and the long evening began.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: **Another chapter for you all~ Gonna be busy with college etc at the end of the week, so may not have the daily updates for you all like usual! (I'm too good to you all anyway) Not totally happy with how this chapter's written quite yet so I may come back and fix a couple of bits at a later stage.

Oh well, enjoy~

"So, Haruhi, how are you finding studying at Ouran? Getting the scholarship there must have been difficult!" Fuyumi asked me sweetly. Dinner had finished and glasses of wine and varieties of coffee were being handed out by the multitude of staff that seemed to spawn out of nowhere.

"It's hard work but enjoyable. Coping with host club duties and staying top of the class takes a lot of effort though," I replied, sipping on my coffee from the comfort of a plush green loveseat.

"You better not be working her too hard, Kyoya!" The raven haired woman turned on her brother with a playful sternness, waving a condescending finger at Kyoya just to make her point.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he muttered sarcastically although I could see the humour in his eyes without the safeguard of his glasses.

Fuyumi returned to me filled with curiosity and leant forward eagerly as she maintained her line of questioning. "I take it your close with all of the host club members then?"

"Yes, over the year I've gotten pretty close with each of them. It's like a little family all in its own," I mused. I stared fondly down in the ornate teacup as I reminisced over all the silly adventures and days spent learning their eccentricities that made them all so unique.

"That's so cute!" Fuyumi cooed, clapping her hands together softly in her enthusiasm. The woman was polar opposites from the rest of her family and I couldn't help but warm to her positivity and affectionate personality. Although instinct told me that I wouldn't want to get on her bad side, she was still an Ootori at heart.

"Fuyumi, don't go talking the girl's ear off. There are plenty of people here for you to entertain," Yuuichi appeared at her side, promptly trying to pry her from seat without making a scene.

"Oh, c'mon Yuuichi," she whined. "Aren't you interested in the girl your baby brother brought along as his date?"

He stared blankly at his sister and gave up on trying to make her obey. "Not particularly. Kyoya's personal life is of no concern of mine."

"You're no fun!" Fuyumi huffed, brushing off her older brother dismissively. Yuuichi left empty handed and continued his rounds of the guests by his father's side. "So, are you two dating or are you just accompanying my little Kyoya here for the night?"

"Well, uh…" I hesitated and found an interesting spot on the floor to focus on. Fuyumi leant forward and raised a fined groomed eyebrow at me as her curiosity piqued again.

Kyoya shuffled in his seat and cleared his throat to capture his sister's attention. His stormy eyes sat half lidded and I could tell he missed the ability to fidget with his glasses when the attention fell on him. "If you must know, then yes, Haruhi is my girlfriend."

"Why didn't you tell me before!?" She hissed at us, head twisting side to side to scan the vicinity for any eavesdroppers. Crossing her arms, she began to impatiently wait an explanation with a foot tapping rapidly against the heavily carpeted floor.

"Because I knew you would make an unnecessary fuss," he said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms in an identical version to his sibling.

"Is father aware?" The fire in her eyes died by a fraction and she continued speaking to us in hushed tones. I had to lean forward just to catch what she has asking and I could only imagine how rude it must look for us all to be hunched over in the corner of the room like gossiping children but Fuyumi didn't seem to care.

Kyoya relaxed into his seat and gave a half-hearted shrug, "It was no big secret so I'm assuming that he may already know."

"Well… I'm happy for you both. Truly I am." She took our hands in her dainty ones and smiled sincerely before pulling away with a determined air surrounding her and her face set in steely confidence. "And if father needs talking around then don't hesitate to ask for help! I'm sure if more than one of us hassles him enough he will come round to the idea."

"I'm hoping that it won't be an issue. It is my decision to make." I slipped my hand into Kyoya's as a silent pillar of support. He squeezed back in response and sent a faint smile my way before providing his sister with his full attention again.

"You're forgetting that I was merely a year older than you are now when I was promised to another man without the pleasure of even meeting him; all purely for strengthening business ties," she let out an inaudible sigh. "I'm one of the lucky ones that still managed to fall in love when I met my soon-to-be husband but that's a rarity. That isn't the life I want for you, Kyoya."

My heart went out to the girl in front of me. Even with all the luxuries of the wealthy lifestyle, I couldn't imagine a life where my husband was picked for monetary gain and not love. Wasn't that the whole point of marrying? I could remember back to when Tamaki announced his engagement to that horrid Tonnerre girl; I would hate to have seen how the bubbly blonde Frenchman would have turned out if he had gone through with returning to France with her. And although I knew that Kyoya had fought tooth and nail for recognition in his family up until now, I doubted that he would be willing to bow down and take whatever wife his father dished out to him.

"I've already made it clear to father that I would be in charge of picking my own wife when the time comes. The last engagement was tricky enough to get out of," he muttered in exasperation. His sibling nodded sympathetically and patted him gently on the arm.

It took a second for the words to properly register in my head before I rounded on the boy with confusion written across my features. "Kyoya?"

Fuyumi edged away from me slightly, making her escape from any impending fight that may occur before her eyes. Kyoya glared at his sister before turning to face me and letting out a soft sigh.

"It was arranged that I would marry the heiress to another medical firm back when I was in my first year at Ouran Academy. However Tamaki helped me to see that she was unfit and I manage to get it called off," he explained briefly, answering my inferred question.

"Would it have killed you to tell me this before?" I huffed. Anger welled up in me because of his blatant nonchalance towards the issue.

"I didn't believe it to be pertinent and not many people knew about it other than our families, Tamaki and Honey-sempai."

"Any other secrets I should know about?" I knew I was acting a bit childish now but my frustrations needed to be let loose in one way or another. We stood off in a battle of glares and forgot about the rest of the world around us.

It lasted only a few seconds before a high pitched squeal had us clutching at our ears in agony and turning our glares of the raven haired beauty in front of us, "You pair are just too cute!"

"Fuyumi…" We muttered in unison. In an instant we swivelled our heads to blink at each other and I burst out into giggles, the tension melting away with the laughter. Kyoya observed me with half lidded eyes before becoming infected with the chuckles as well. His arm wrapped loosely around my waist and pulled me in tight by his side.

As we continued chatting away, mainly answering Fuyumi persistent questions, I couldn't help but feel we were being watched. From up on the staircase, Yoshio Ootori stood proudly like a statue, observing the happenings from his high perch. His devious brown eyes were fixed solely on his two youngest children in that moment, brows furrowing in intrigue. With a swift sweep of the hand, he pulled out a cell phone and selected a familiar contact.

"Yuzuru? Yes. I just wanted to inform you of a little development on our little bet that you seemed to have left unnoticed."


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: **Hello my little sugar plums~ I have a new chapter here for you all! So I'm back to being ill again :( I feel like a zombie wandering around, not fun! I'll try and get some more chapters written but can't promise you guys anything!

Now, enjoy!~

* * *

Host club felt strangely empty on the Monday afternoon. The mutual sense of loss between us all left a lull of melancholy over the room but that didn't deter the ladies from coming to attempt to cheer us up. I took into account that this would probably be my last week of working as an actual host and tried to savour the opportunity to enjoy the attention whilst I still could.

As well as taking over for Mori's and Honey's old regulars, we were also overrun with new ladies that had just arrived into first year. All the eager and anxious faces would peek through the door before plucking up the courage to enter.

"Ha – ru – hi!" A sing song voice crowed from behind me. Two firm hands took hold of my shoulders and the girls at the table all giggled and blushed at whatever the boy was doing behind my back.

My eyes rolled towards the heavens and I swivelled around in the seat, "What do you want, Hikaru?"

His eyes lit up like they always did when I managed to tell them apart successfully, but the giddy energy he exuded spoke of more excitement to come. "We have a surprise for you!"

"Can't it wait until hosting's finished?" I asked trying to curb my suspicion.

"No way! Kyoya-sempai had us set this up, so you'd better not disobey," he tutted. With a low bow to my clients, he turned on the charm and smiled at them dreamily, "Excuse us for a moment, ladies."

In a blur, I was whipped away towards one of the back rooms where Kaoru stood by a covered mannequin. The brothers reunited joyfully and began an intense, drawn out countdown whilst I dreaded what catastrophe they were expecting me to wear next.

"Tadaaaa!" They yelled as the sheet from the stand revealing a pale yellow dress that I recognised as the Ouran's girls uniform. I moved towards it and ran my fingers over the delicate fabric.

"We've already made the alterations to it, so you're ready to wear it whenever you want," Kaoru grinned, looking proud of their work. They watched me with eager eyes as I turned back to them and smiled appreciatively.

They dashed forward and wrapped me in a tight hug, continuously declaring how cute I was and rubbing their cheeks against my own. I ignored their blubbering and hugged them back with just as much vigour. "Wow, guys, I don't know what to say."

"The Shadow King let us in on the little snippet of info that you were getting tired of pretending to be a guy-" Hikaru began.

His brother beamed down at me and continued, "So we made you some of the uniform dresses. Just so Tono didn't catch wind of it through his father."

"Yes, he has a tendency to make a scene given the chance," Kyoya's amused voice sounded from the doorway where he was leaning lazily against the door frame. His glasses had returned and they caught the light, hiding his eyes from our sight.

The twins broke away from me, bouncing around with unspent energy and covered up the dress again. "Consider it a present!"

"A reward for helping us pass with straight A's!" Hikaru ruffled my hair affectionately with a smirk. I glared back in return and elbow him gently in the side which had him falling dramatically to the floor with overzealous acting.

"So, Haruhi. When are you going to have your big reveal?" Kyoya wandered over and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. "Is this to be a big event or as casual as can be made possible?"

"I hadn't really thought of that," I tapped at my chin in thought. "In all honesty, I was just going to turn up wearing the dress and hope nobody gets mad at me for lying for so long."

Kyoya chuckled at my simplistic answer; the deep rumbling in his chest vibrating against my back. He leant down and planted a soft kiss on my cheek but I could still feel the smirk on his lips as they pressed against my skin.

Kaoru approached us warily, a troubling thought clearly on his mind. "Should we warn Tono before hand?"

"Or will he just try to stop her?" The brothers slumped together; minds' kicking into high gear over what I could only imagine was ways to stop a melodramatic Tamaki in any ridiculous imaginary scenarios that could be mocked up in the Hitachiins' heads. "He'd be the only one not to know."

"Not entirely. Depending on when Haruhi chooses to carry out her elaborate plan," he explained with a hint of sarcasm. "Then we may have new hosts joining us before that point."

"New hosts?!" All three of us called out in surprise.

"How are we supposed to just pick new people to join?" The twins cried out in disbelief. Worry and confusion twisted at their features; they paced the length of the room in silent frustration.

"Well by rule, in order to run an extra-curricular club in Ouran, there needs to be at least six members." Kyoya explained to them simply, tilting his head to the side and giving them a face that said 'you should have expected this'. "And if you've lost your ability to count, there are only five of us at the present. Four once Haruhi steps down from her role as host."

"But nobody could take Honey-sempai or Mori-sempai's place…" Hikaru muttered softly, looking torn between sadness and anger.

"Well, I did have an idea, but it would have to be run by Tamaki first," Kyoya pulled out his little black note book and flipped to a specific page and skimmed down the scribbled text. We all waited in anticipation as the raven haired boy took his time in deliberating his possible candidates.

"It was my intention to ask Ritsu Kasanoda. He has potential now that he has worked on having a softer side. As well as recruiting Satoshi and Yasuchika, although if they would be willing to compromise their martial arts responsibilities is questionable." The black book was snapped shut again and tucked back into the safety of his blazer.

"I guess they wouldn't be too bad," Kaoru contemplated, still looking somewhat worried but had visibly relaxed.

"Yeah, Casanova could be fun," Hikaru reassured his twin, a demonic glint appearing in his eye that infected his sibling in a matter of seconds. I backed away from the plotting pair and into the protection of Kyoya's arms as we observed them silently exchanging in their odd telepathic way.

Kaoru laughed menacingly, "And winding up Chika is more than fun."

The pair quickly made their escape back to the hosting area and disappeared into their impatient group of ladies. I looked up at Kyoya, conveying my worry to him silently but a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips in reply. He always did like things to stay interesting. Shaking my head, I gave him one last hug before making my way back out to my customers for the day but my mind kept wandering. The host club as I knew it was about to change even more and hopefully our little family wouldn't be disturbed.


End file.
